Hazardous Missions 101
by Cella N
Summary: “I’m going to hell.” “Now, Sakura, becoming a teacher won’t get you in hell.” SAKURA. CHILDREN. On teaching, slices of life, children, learning, bitchfights, useless missions, more children, clones, campfires, girl troubles, and lots of ninjas.
1. PROLOGUE

**Spoilers:** None.  
**Dedications:** To Rose, Jen and Sorah. They all know who they are, and why they're so utterly important to me. Thanks for the boost. If this doesn't work, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT.  
**A/N:** Well, this spawn was caused by a random thought. I've read a lot of "Sasuke/Naruto/Shikamaru gets a genin team under his care" fics, and usually they're funny—I think, I don't usually read them much? XD—but the thing that nagged at me was "what about Sakura?". And what about her, really? How would SHE act as a genin sensei? Well, here's to finding out. (Oh gods, what am I getting into?!) Oh an BTW, this is genfic as far as pairings. For now. For always? Don't know.

* * *

**PROLOGUE**  
_Decisions The Hokage Shouldn't Take While Drunk_

* * *

It was once said that boredom caused even the highest and mightiest of people to fall from their thrones and do something utterly stupid.

Sakura completely agreed with that saying.

She stared into the amused eyes of her Hokage, and her Hokage stared back. The pause was long, the silence was tangible. Sakura's patience was dimming down. "Come again?" she asked, blinking once.

"I said, I've decided to put you in charge of a genin team, Sakura. Are you deaf?" the Hokage answered.

"B-but…me? _Teaching?_"

"That _is_ the principle of 'in charge of a genin team', yes."

She managed to both glare slightly at the woman, move her hands in a desperate gesticulation, and sum it all up to one word: "Why?"

Tsunade managed to sum her answer up to two. "Why not?"

------

Kakashi found her later, in a bar, her head on the table and her hand clutching the glass. His lips twitched under his mask in amusement, and he took the stool next to her.

"Yo," he murmured, good-natured like Kakashi always was. Sort of.

Sakura lifted her head, squinted her eyes at her former—from way, _way_ back—sensei, and grumbled. "I'm going to hell," she saluted.

Kakashi sighed, signalled the bartender for a drink—his usual, though god knew what the hell his usual actually _was_—and turned towards Sakura. "You know," he started, patting her shoulder, "Becoming a teacher won't get you in hell, Sakura."

"Oh yeah? Was that what _you_ thought when they assigned you a team?" she snapped, looking ready to bite that hand.

He pulled it away, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "No, it was something closer to 'anything but children, even hordes of S-class criminals, please'." His second thought—that came the second day, when he was nursing a hangover, courtesy of Gai and his stupid contests—had been more like 'the guy who invented schools must die'. But she didn't need to know that.

"Yeah, you see?" she pointed, scowling slightly. "I can't train genin, Kakashi-sensei," she complained, slipping into the old suffixes like she would when she was complaining and feeling like a whiny brat—this was one of those moments, probably _the_ moment.

"Why not?" he asked, while doing a complex construction with straws which he used to drink without pulling down his mask.

"Because," she started, "One, I don't think I'm prepared enough myself. I don't have techniques, I suck at taijutsu—mostly, anyhow—and there's no way they'll be ready to learn genjutsu this early. And two, the only other team I ever taught was those medic-nins in Suna, and most of them fainted during my first half an hour."

"Character building."

"Shut up. Not the point! The point is, I have no _reference_ for teaching."

He pretended to look offended at that. She wasn't impressed.

"Please, if I had to act like you, _I_ wouldn't survive the first twenty minutes."

That statement managed to get him looking proud. Sakura shook her head, deciding the old age was getting to him—course she wouldn't exactly tell him that because he'd either spar with her until she nearly died, or get all undignified and broody.

"Tough luck, Sakura."

"_That's_ your significant advice?" she spurted.

"Hey, I'm not your teacher anymore, nothing left for me to teach," he defended himself, smiling slightly. Ruffling her hair—she _hated_ that part—he continued, "Just do what you think you need to do to earn their trust, respect, and maybe a bit of fear."

"Wah."

"Start on the vocabulary."

A loud scuffle was heard in their vicinity, and only the few lucky and observant patrons could witness that night a spectacular sight. Hatake Kakashi with a straw shoved up his nose.

-------

Morning really didn't find Sakura with a hangover.

Really.

She was only holding her head above the toilet because she was so utterly in love with it's soft seating. And so on.

_Who am I kidding?_

She wiped her mouth, washed her face and drank some water to recover all the liquids she'd spill. Well, last night had turned to be interesting. In the end, somehow or the other, all of Kakashi's circle of friends had dragged her for some sort of celebration. She was one of them, after all. A teacher. Said celebration consisted of a karaoke bar, dancing with Gai to disco music, learning how to talk with a senbon in her mouth like Genma did, draw a map of Ibiki's scars—she had called it Treasure Island, after her third shot of tequila—and getting a full-course in 'why children are demon spawn', courtesy of Anko. Sakura had vaguely thought it was some sort of collective prank to the newbie.

But then, of course, came the advice.

Everyone had something to add, something to put in. In the end Sakura got so much advice of how to deal with genin that she decided she couldn't use anything. Because mixing Gai's "YOUTHFUL ZEAL!" with Anko's "talk and die" would always, always be a bad thing.

There was a bang on her door, then three faster, consecutive knocks.

_Just what I needed._

Sakura tried to pretend she wasn't in the house. The knocking continued. She got dressed quietly, strapped on all her weapons, scrolls and needed materials. The knocking persisted. She opened a window slowly, and threw one leg over the edge, ready to jump, when—

"You know, Forehead," came a drawl from her bedroom's door. "If you don't want me to visit you, don't give me a copy of the key."

Sakura deflated a little bit, and looked over her shoulder. "Hi, Ino-pig."

"You look like you got drunk with the oldies," the woman said, smirking.

"Who else saw me?"

"Weeeell…by the point where you were dancing on the table? The whole village knew of your…'promotion'. Congratulations, by the way. I brought you congratulatory breakfast."

A bag full of deliciously smelling muffins was shoved under her nose, as Sakura flinched over her former table-dancing. That was one other experience she didn't want to repeat. Ever. Ever.

"So…in charge of brats, eh?" the blonde asked, grinning widely.

"Shut up," Sakura grumbled, stuffing a muffin into her mouth to avoid giving answers.

"You know, I doubt you'll get much respect, if you turn up hungover during your first day. Tsk. Bad example you make, Forehead."

The glare she gave the blonde would have been more efficient if there hadn't been a muffin stuffed in her mouth, making her look something like a chipmunk.

------

It was about nine in the morning when she finally showed up on her assigned training grounds. Number Seven, what an amusing stab to the heart. Shaking her head, she paused on the branches of a taller tree to think.

_Right. I'm hungover and in charge of teaching kids. What to do to earn their respect and fear?_

_I'll just have to act like a mean teacher. It worked for Kakashi during his first day._

That being decided, she landed somewhere near her students. Up this close, it looked like two girls and one boy. Bad. Very bad. She could almost foresee the future bitchfights over the boy. Oh well.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. Any jokes about that will earn you two laps around the grounds," she started, smiling secretly as her students turned around, surprised. There went her beginning.

-------

Meanwhile, up in the Hokage Tower, Tsunade herself was also nursing a hangover as she called Shizune into her office.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" the woman asked.

"Shizune, did I do anything…hazardous to Konoha yesterday?" the woman asked, rubbing her head.

"Err…well, it depends."

"Just tell me what I did. The old frog-pervert insisted we celebrate our long survival, and I haven't been that drunk in quite a while."

"Well…you assigned Sakura a gening team," Shizune started, tentatively. "Is that…hazardous to Konoha?"

"Nah, okay, you can leave," Tsunade said, shooing the woman out of her office.

Minutes later, when the course of her action finally registered in Tsunade's brain, she produced such a loud "I DID _WHAT_?", that even Ibiki jumped from his seat. And he was two stories below ground.

At least that year would be interesting.


	2. Chapter ONE

**Spoilers:** None.  
**Dedications:** To Rose, Jen and Sorah. They all know who they are, and why they're so utterly important to me. Thanks for the boost. If this doesn't work, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT.  
**A/N:** Ee! Three people read it? Good enough for me. (You know, in Bleach fandom I want moar reviews, but I'm a newbie here, so that's totally expected. Even so, PLEASE REVIEW ME, YOU PEOPLE! OR MONKEYS WILL BEFALL UPON YOU LIKE HUNGRY PACKS OF WOLVES! I need to work my metaphors a bit.) Seriously, though, it tickles me pink to get new reviews--even constructive criticism is good! _ANYTHING_. They act as a good boost to write more, and how the hell will I write more if I'm not even sure people read this? (Is that enough begging for you? Or do you want more?)  
ANYWAY! Chapter the first, and here we have…THE TEAM! You'll notice someone's familiar there, at least by their family name. You'll also notice that Sakura interacts with pretty much _everyone_, so don't expect that just because they're having lunch together, this will become a shippy-skippy ShikaSaku. I meant it when I said genfic. No ships—at least not involving Sakura. Either way, I have LOADS planned for Team Sakura. One chapter probably about how corny that sounds. XD But Haruno Teamu sounds worse. I need to stop divulging secrets and just write the next chapter! Carry on!

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**  
_Teams Of Different Variations_

* * *

"So, now that you know my name, lets start with a bit of introductions, hmm?" Sakura said, some minutes later.

Her morning wasn't going all that well so far. She'd managed to scare her students a little bit by sneaking up on them, but that hardly earned her any points, really. So now she was a genin teacher. Her. The Hokage's apprentice. This was her worst year ever. In a way, anyhow. Bah.

So, now she sat on the grass with them in front of her. Introductions were always a mess because no-one wanted to start. So, taking her old sensei's example, she began. "So, my name is Haruno Sakura, I'm a Jounin. I'm very grouchy in the morning, I don't take any type a bribery, I _will_ really make you run laps if you mock my name, yes my hair is natural. My goals in life are to become strong and capable of helping my friends. All of them," she said. Then pointed at the boy. "Your turn."

"My name's Sakamura Jiro," he started in a neutral voice. "I don't like loud people, stupid people, annoying people…actually, people in general. I don't like people in general. My goals in life are to be as good a ninja as I can get, and surpassing my brother."

_Well, second son. He's either a Sasuke-clone, or a Shikamaru-clone. My vote's for Shikamaru-clone._

Sakamura Jiro, as the Shikamaru-clone called himself, was a slim boy, average size, average looks, average voice. Everything about him was mostly average. The only striking think he had were his striking violet eyes, and the lack of hair on his head. Maybe a family tradition, she would have to check up on the Sakamura family after this. Maybe during lunch.

Sakura pointed to the girl in the middle, "Now you."

"My n-name is Tanaka Hana. I like flowers, and quiet places, and my goal here is to be a good ninja, but mostly to grow more self-esteem and control."

Sakura nodded appreciatively. Tanaka Hana reminded her in a way of Hinata, but only in her shyness and soft voice. Otherwise, everything was different. The girl was tall, taller than the boy, and skinny in a way typical of pubescent girls as young as she were. Her hair was short, and red, her eyes slanted, black—her eyes were the only Japanese trait she had, aside from the shape of her face. It was a huge contrast, how tall she was, how imposing she could be, how pretty, and strong, and yet how shy she had turned out.

_Must focus on helping this girl grow. Won't have a Hinata-clone._

"And you now," Sakura instructed to the last girl.

"My name's Akimichi Mara, and I like potatoes. I'm only here because my mother wants me to be slim, but I guess I can take advantage of this. Maybe I'll get noticed by…someone."

Sakura frowned slightly, before smiling at the girl. Akimichi Mara wasn't at all an ugly girl. In fact, she was really pretty, even though her hair colour and eye colour were typical Japanese coal-black. Even with a round face, and her rounder shapes, she wasn't in any dire need of being slim. _Definitely having a chat with her mother. After I have a chat with her about this._ And that someone Mara mentioned, if it were any indication by the way her gaze had slid over her male teammate, Sakura decided she'd have to talk about that too, sooner or later. _I'll not have another repeat of myself._

"Right then, now that that's done, you're free to go. We'll meet here, tomorrow morning, for first training. Don't eat anything. That's my only order."

She felt a bit bad about telling them this, but that's how it went. She wasn't going to copy all of Kakashi's training styles. So she had until the next day to create her own style, or to ask around.

The worse, or best really, part of it all, was that her team had already grown on her. And not even an hour had passed.

_God, I'm such a _girl.

-------

Noon found Sakura at a table in the town's sushi restaurant, one bowl of miso soup and one plate of sashimi, both empty beside her. The glass of water was still full, and she was rubbing her fingers over it as she studied the folders in front of her.

"What are you doing?" came a relaxed voice from above her.

She looked up into the face of Shikamaru. "Nothing. Investigating." She closed the folder shut, hoping he hadn't noticed the big red note she'd left near the photo of Sakamura Jiro, proclaiming him 'Shikamaru-clone'. "Why?" she asked, smiling sweetly at her old workmate.

When women had been women, and men had been women, Sakura was training under Tsunade, and Shikamaru was slaving under Tsunade. That caused some sort of alliance to form between the two tortured-by-Tsunade souls, followed by lunches together, a few games of shougi, and one drunken night neither of them wanted to remember. Ever.

"I'm being polite," Shikamaru explained as he sat down in front of her. "What are you investigating?" he asked, picking up the menu and lifting it in front of her face. "Ino asked me out to lunch, what does it mean?" he added, muffled voice.

"It means she wants to pin you to a wall and ravish you," Sakura answered, opening her folders again with a sigh. "It means she wants to have lunch with you, idiot. You'd better have said yes."

"Of course I did." He let the menu fall against the table, one hand rubbing his chin. "Ravishing against a wall, eh?"

"Shikamaru."

"Right, nevermind." There was a pause, very comfortable, and then a moment where he ordered his food and drink. Typically, same as hers. Shikamaru wasn't much for creative eating. Neither was she, then again. "So, anyway. What _are_ you studying?"

"I'm not studying, I'm investigating. Tsunade-shishou assigned me a genin team. I'm looking up their past history," she explained.

"Interesting." Which in Shikamaru-language meant 'continue talking'.

"Well, there's one guy and two girls. The guy…I want to know more about his family, and such, because he looks like…you know. And I don't want a repeat of that."

"What's his name?"

"Sakamura Jiro."

"Sakamura, hmm…no. Everything's okay with that family. He's got an older brother, though. Chuunin, I think."

"Well, then surpassing him will be easy," Sakura marked it down in her notes. She thanked the skies for Shikamaru's huge memory. "Anyway, then there's a girl, Tanaka Hana—"

"Nice name."

"Shut it. She's shy but seems okay. All she needs is a boost. And then, there's Akimichi Mara."

"Oh."

"Sounds familiar?"

"Yeah, she's Chouji's…second cousin, or something like that. You should ask him about her."

"I will, probably. Either way, she concerns me. Her mother made her join so she could be slim—which is weird and odd for an Akimichi family member. And she doesn't seem very…I don't know."

"A clone of you?" Sometimes the guy thought too quickly. Sakura glared at him. "Well, either way, you should talk to Chouji when he comes back from his mission. He'll know what's wrong."

"Right." There was silence again as his food was brought in. "So…now that you're here, I need help with training plans."

Shikamaru looked up from his bowl, disinterested. "You use me too much."

"And you plan on dating _Ino_ with that attitude?"

-------

Tsunade sighed, dropping in her chair as she looked at Shizune. "Well, I signed the papers. Nothing we can do."

Her assistant only gave her a Look.

"Don't give me that," Tsunade protested. "I know, I know, I shouldn't drink. Bah. A woman has ONE good vice—"

"Vices are bad by description, Tsunade-sama."

"Whatever. Anyway. What's done's done. Sakura'll have to teach them. There's nothing more I can teach her, and she's been named tokubetsu-Jounin one year ago. Girl doesn't want to go ANBU, not that I blame her, and the hospital only calls her in when there's a huge emergency. So teaching'll do her good."

Shizune sighed in a reprimanding way.

"Hey, the Sandaime was drunk when he named _Kakashi_ a sensei, and look how good that worked out. For…most of them. Anyway, what's to say it won't be the best thing I've ever done?"

Shizune raised an eyebrow.

"You know," Tsunade snapped. "Talking with you is so…_bothersome._"

-------

It's not that Sakura did these things on purpose. Getting drunk before a day of teaching. Really, she didn't. But today was the day Naruto and Sai returned from a long mission, and whether she'd liked it or not, she'd been dragged along with them to the nearest bar, to celebrate their survival.

The bastards probably survived on purpose. Just to return and get Sakura drunk. Absolutely.

"So, Tsunade-baa-chan made you…sensei?" Naruto asked for the third time, after his third glass of sake. Or was that his third bottle?

"Yep," Sakura answered, slumped on her chair—if Kakashi had seen her right then, he'd have demanded retribution for copying his Kakashi Sitting Habbits ©.

"To young kids?"

"Yep."

"Is she _insane_?"

"Ye—hey! Naruto, what's that supposed to mean?" she bristled.

"Naa, Sakura-chan, it doesn't _mean_ anything bad, like you think. Just that…well…you're more valuable as a…not-teacher…sensei…person?"

Naruto was obviously not doing well with word assembly at that moment. Or ever. Sakura shrugged. "Well, I kinda like the brats…so far, anyway…we'll see how it turns out."

"There go three young minds, about to be destroyed by an old hag," Sai said, raising up his glass.

Somehow, all their congratulatory dinners ended up with Sai nursing a bleeding nose.

* * *

**A/N:** Tanaka Hana roughly translated is 'inside a field' 'flower', OR 'flower in the middle of a field'. Yes, Sakura's not the only one with a pun for a name. XD I'm so horrible. 


	3. Chapter TWO

**Spoilers:** None.  
**A/N:** THANK YOU ALL for the support. I loved every line and word of it. Therefore, here we go, another chapter. A few notes: I didn't want to copy Kakashi's first task, and neither did Sakura, so she created one herself. It may sound less entertaining and special, but climbing to the top of a tree with no help other than your body and mind, no chakra and the rest, can be a tricky thing for a child. And since there is no OMG!GENIUS-NINJA in her team, the task, I think, is appropriate. Also, if you couldn't tell by now, I like Sakura and Kakashi interactions. They tickle me pink. Really they do. It's not my KakaSaku streak pushing through—I meant it when I said genfic—but rather my love for how they seem to work. Plus, Kakashi's laconic advice always is a plus. Right?  
Onwards, then!

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**  
_Thirty-Five Feet Of Glory_

* * *

It was about five in the morning when the rock hit his forehead.

Kakashi woke up, alert, and with a mark the size of a small rock on his forehead. From the trajectory of the fall, he'd have to say it came from the open window just above his bed. Or, you know…regardless the trajectory, it was the only place humanly possible for the rock to have come from.

"Are you awake yet, or do I have to throw another?" came a shout from below, followed by two muffled snorts of laughter, and something that sounded particularly like 'Sakura-chan, shhhh'.

Ah. Well that explained it. Yesterday Sai and Naruto had come back from a mission, and as tradition had it that the two boys had taken Sakura out for drinks. Tradition also had it that at about 5am of each night out the three had, they would end it under Kakashi's bedroom window. The man still cursed the day they had became legal to drink. It was obviously not good for the village. Or himself. His precious sleep.

"Yo," he spoke, poking his head out the window. "Busy night?"

"KAKASHI-SENSEI, LOOK WE'RE BACK! WE SURVIVED AGAIN, SEE?"

"Yes, Naruto. I think the whole village knows, already," Kakashi said, sighing softly behind his mask.

"Naruto, stop being so loud and help me get up to the window. I have something to talk about with my old, old, _old_ sensei," Sakura slurred, as she started to climb over Naruto.

Kakashi rolled his eyes at her jabs towards his age. The girl did it all the time. Which was just fair, since he still called them kids all the time. Watching his former student climb up to his window, he breathed a sigh of relief that it was only the first floor.

"Need help?" he asked, holding out a hand.

"No," Sakura answered, but grabbed his hand, and pulled herself up till she was sitting on his window sill.

"So…you're here because…" Kakashi started.

"I'm drunk."

"Obviously."

"And tomorrow I teach my first lesson. And I'm _drunk_, sensei. Just like I was yesterday. So now these three adorable kids in my care will know me forever like the Hungover-Woman. With Pink Hair."

"I'm sure that's not the case," Kakashi said, patting her shoulder. It was 5:12am, which signalled the 'comfort a depressed drunk ex-student' time.

"It _so_ is. And. Anyway…I came here because I wanted to wish you luck on your mission!"

"You do know my mission only starts in two days," he droned out. _Getting sleepy._

"I might not survive tomorrow," she explained, opening her arms. "Give me a hug and let's get it over with."

He stepped into her hug, patting her head in a very fatherly manner. If your father was some horrible sleepy person. From below came the shout of "KAKASHI, STOP GETTING COZY WITH YOUR OLD STUDENT!" courtesy of Naruto's big mouth. Sakura's sandal accidentally slipped from her foot, landing—only by hand of fate—flat against Naruto's face. A murmured whine of "so mean" was the only response.

"You know," Sakura said, muffled against his shoulder. "You were the best teacher ever. Even if you sucked at teaching me much up until I was…say about…15. But you were still the best. After Tsunade-shishou, maybe…and Iruka wasn't that bad either, come to think of i—"

"I think I get your point," he said, dryly.

"Right. Well, you were the best sensei ever, and I can only hope to be ask good as you were with these kids tomorrow. Because they're nice kids, y'know? And I kinda like'em already."

"I'm sure you will."

"Yeah. And I might copy some of your teaching habbits. Which means, that if I happen to fail as a sensei to these adorable bunch of kids, it will be _all your fault_."

"As usual, it's a pleasure to talk to you, Sakura," he quipped, and pulled away from the hug.

"I agree. Well, I gotta go now. Have to sleep some…" she said, starting to slip off his window sill. "Ta," she added, before falling to the ground with a graceful hop.

At least she was graceful when drunk. That much gave him a bit of pride. Sort of. He observed as the three walked their way to their respective houses, then turned around to get back in bed.

_Both of them have grown so much over these past year. I guess Sakura's partially right, I did have something to do with it. I'm responsible for all their maturity._

"NARUTO, STOP GROPING ME, YOU IDIOT, I'M NOT _THAT_ DRUNK!" came from down the street, and Kakashi turned over in his bed.

_I take back all responsibility._

---------  
It turned out the odds were all against her.

At about seven in the morning, just one and a half hour since she'd gone to bed, there was a knock on her window. It insisted until Sakura was finally awake and unhappy. An informative scroll from Tsunade told her she was needed in the hospital. Without delaying it one minute longer, she pulled on her boots and ran towards the hospital.

She arrived in two minutes, her legs hurting a bit from all the roof-jumping and fast-running, but one cup of coffee chugged down her throat later, she was ready to work.

_The dangerous life of a medic-nin._

"So, what's wrong?" she asked, pulling her hair in a tail, and a medic-cloak on.

"You're…wearing your pyjamas, Haruno-san…" a helpful nurse supplied.

"The _patient._ The danger. Where is it? Please tell me there's a good reason to be dragged out of bed this early. I have to teach mouldable minds in two hours," she snapped.

"He's in there, Haruno-san. Tsunade-sama is taking care of it, also," the nurse pointed, indicating her towards a room. There was blue light coming from under the door, which meant Tsunade had already started working.

_Busy night, here I come._

The whole thing ended after two hours, with Sakura slumped on a chair beside her patient's bed, watching how his chest rose and fell. Tsunade had left ten minutes ago, and Sakura was in charge of waiting until the man on the bed woke up.

And such a feat, he was doing it at that moment.

Sakura stood up from her chair and fetched him a glass of water before holding his head up to help him drink, as she gave him the welcome back speech. "We've managed to stabilize your vitals, you had your left lung punctured, so it might hurt to breathe for a while, and you were poisoned. But that's all taken care of. You need to rest and relax, which means you're set to bed for—"

"I know what I have to do, thank you," the man interrupted, pulling himself away from her glass with obsolesce.

Sakura looked at him for a moment. Then she glared. "Alright, what's the big idea, Hyuuga?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Getting that horribly maimed just the night before I have to teach my first ever genin class, eh? What, you have some sort of bad timing following you around or something?" she snapped, hitting his chest for a good measure. "I've slept not even two hours tonight. And I have a hangover. And I'm in the hospital in my pyjamas, and it's all because of you."

"Do not blame me for your poor resistance to drinking, Haruno," Neji dryly commented.

"You…_you_…I hope the adversary was twice as worse as you came in."

"Of course," he answered, an eyebrow raised in a 'you had a doubt?' look.

"Good," she bit out, feeling her anger gradually deflate.

"So...genin team?" Neji asked after a long pause.

"Yes," she answered, dubitatively.

"…poor children."

"You know, Sai said something like that and I broke his nose. I'd break yours too, but it's against the hospital rules."

"You'd have to catch me first," he stated, plainly.

"You're _strapped_ to a bed, Hyuuga. You can't run or move much from there."

"You still wouldn't catch me," he added, and it was final. "Weren't you going to leave? Sleep?"

"Infuriating little—"

"Good night, Haruno."

---------

Snoozing for five minutes was a bad idea. Because five minutes turned into an hour, and it so happened that at the end of that hour, her lovely new students found Sakura laying on the grass, sleeping. At their training ground.

"You know, that looks uncomfortable," Hana whispered to her team-mates. "Should we wake her?"

"But she said she was grouchy in the morning," Mara murmured. "Sakamura-san, what are you _doing_?" she asked, alarmed.

Jiro looked up at the girls, dropping the stick with which he'd been trying to poke Sakura awake. "This works sometimes?"

"Do you want her to make us run laps?" Mara asked, tugging him away. "Just let her sleep—"

"I'm not sleeping," Sakura grumbled, making the kids jump again. "Well…I'm not sleeping anymore." She sat up, and watched her students with a clinical eye. They, in turn, watched her with an equally clinical eye. "I had a long night," she explained.

The three children nodded obediently, not daring to question her.

"Anyway. Let's start your first lesson," she said, standing up. "I trust you three haven't eaten anything?"

They nodded again.

Sakura pulled out a kunai, and took aim, throwing it at a tree. It embedded itself at a height of about 35 feet above the ground. She turned to her students, and clapped her hands once. "Right, your mission is to fetch that kunai. You have one hour, and you cannot use any technique that involves chakra manipulation. Just use your body, and your brain—I know you have it with you. The first one to get the kunai, gets an obento—my mother's speciality. The ones who don't get it, will be thrown back to the academy level. I know, it's sad, but that's just how life goes. If you can't get a measly kunai out of a tree, chances are, you can't be a ninja. Got it?"

They nodded again.

"Well, then. Time starts…now."

------

During the first half an hour, Sakura just stood on a branch above where the kunai was, watching. In her mind she kept on repeating why this was a good way of training. Most teacher just started by valuating their students' fighting abilities, like Kakashi had. But Sakura thought, based on personal experience, that it was more important to use logic and also have a capable body, before starting to learn any jutsu. This exercise would help with that. She hoped.

She noticed that Hana had started to use two kunais as climbing aids, and she was gradually reaching the top. Sakura formed the hand-seals discreetly, releasing a genjutsu that made the kunai look farther away to Hana's eyes, and make her feel like she could never reach it, thusly starting to get tired. The girl landed back on the ground.

"You cheated!" Jiro shouted from below.

"Well, I never said I'd make it _easy_ for you," Sakura snapped, wagging a finger at him.

The boy gave her a defiant glare, then nudged at his two team-mates. They congregated together far away from the tree, so Sakura used a camouflage jutsu to be able to land near them and hear what they said.

"Look, we won't be able to reach that stupid thing with only using our body," Jiro started, whispering.

"Yeah, it's too high. If we could use chakra manipulation, or anything else, it would be easier, but without it, I can't jump higher than…five feet. Or so," Mara added in.

"I tried with the kunais, but Haruno-sensei did a genjutsu. I don't know," Hana whispered, rubbing her chin.

"I have a plan," Jiro said, dragging the girls closer.

Sakura listened, a grinned blooming on her face with each word that passed. Two minutes later, she was back on her branch, and the kids were just returning from their ad-hoc reunion.

"Giving up?" she asked them, faking neutrality.

The kids gave her no answer, instead started working. Mara jumped her five feet up to the lowest branch, where she hooked her legs around it, and let herself hand upside-down. Hana was next, grabbing Mara's hands and her feet boosted by Jiro, she jumped to another branch, ten feet high. They continued like this, creating a human ladder, until the three of them were each on a different branch, right under the kunai.

"Two minutes left," Sakura stated, impassively. "Only one winner."

She wondered if they'd start fighting now, on who'd get the kunai first, but they did something that surprised her. They grinned at each other, and reached for the kunai. The three of them. Together, and at the same time.

"Time's over," Sakura snapped, and jumped down from the tree.

The children followed, the three still holding the weapon in their joint hands.

"Well. I said _one_ of you would get the kunai, but you obviously don't understand maths very we—"

"One got the kunai, sensei," Mara interrupted. "The team."

_You're obviously not going to let me give you a terrifying Kakashi-esque 'you all pass' speech, will you? Bunch of brats._

She tilted her head at them. "You all pass."

They cheered, smiling and congratulating each other, and their hands never left that weapon. Sakura couldn't wait to tell Kakashi about this.

She was so proud.

------

"You know, Mara-san," Hana spoke, looking at the other girl, "When Haruno-sensei said she'd buy us lunch, I don't think she meant seconds and thirds."

"Ah, but…" the other girl started, then deflated. "You're right. Sorry, sensei."

"Aa. It's fine. I'd buy seconds, but I don't have enough money. And I'm so hungry, too," Sakura answered, grinning slightly.

"Why are you hungry?" Jiro asked, looking up from his bowl of ramen.

"Well, I didn't have time to sleep or eat this morning."

"Why?" the boy repeated.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at him. "I went to bed late due to a mission with my old team,"—which was sort of true—"and then I slept almost two hours before being called to the hospital to help."

"You're a medic-nin?" Hana asked, blinking slightly.

"Duh, she's Haruno Sakura, the Hokage's apprentice," Jiro drawled at the girl, flicking a noodle at her.

"I didn't know that," the girl complained, flicking the noodle off her face.

"Stop playing with your food," Mara groused. "Give it to me if you don't want it."

Sakura watched as they bickered, amused and impressed at how well their dynamics worked together. Their early display of teamwork had brightened her day, and having lunch with them? Sure, she was spoiling them a bit, and the brats would never learn respect, but who cared! Teamwork was much more important. She planned to be equally attentive to all her students, because Sakura hated repeating mistakes of the past. Very much.

A bowl of ramen was set under her nose, drawing her out from her inner-musing. "I didn't order another," Sakura said to Ayame, the waitress.

"I know," Ayame answered, smiling as she pointed towards the children, "They did it for you."

"B-but—"

"Na, sensei, we'll pay," Jiro droned, slurping the remainder of his ramen into his mouth.

"It's bad when your sensei is hungry. The better you feel, the better you teach," Hana added, smiling shyly.

"And we probably owe you for saving our parents on countless times," Mara spoke.

Sakura paused, looking from her bowl to her students, then back into her bowl, tears forming at her eyes. _It's settled. I love these kids. And I'm such a _girl. "You know what?" she said, looking at them with a smile. "We're a team, right? So, we can share this, like a team."

And without further ado, she pushed the bowl between them, and they dug in.

------

"They did all that?" Ino asked, sipping from her milkshake, perched on a countertop in Sakura's kitchen. "The whole bowl of ramen, teamwork, everything?"

"Yep. No lie," Sakura answered, from the table.

"Wow, girl. Not even when our team was made did we work so well together," Ino said, impressed.

"I know what you mean. Personally I think it's because I have two girls in the team, so there's less competition. And they seem to get along really nicely so far, so it's good, right?"

"Yeah. You got lucky with you team, Forehead."

"I know, Ino-Pig."

The blonde grinned, and finished her milkshake. "But you know, by buying them lunch you just spoiled them rotten and now you'll get NO respect."

"Can't you give compliments without ruining them afterwards just _once_?"

------

That night she was invited again to the older Jounins' table, where Gai absolutely insisted that she tell them how her first day went. Needless to say, they were all impressed. And Sakura was smug, doing her inner-victory-dance and thinking _My team works better than ALL your teams put together, HAH!_

"No competition at all?" Anko asked, huffing. "Bunch of pansies."

Sakura would have honestly grabbed the older woman's throat and strangled it for messing with her students, but she didn't have a death wish as of that moment. "They don't have to have competition to work well as a team," Sakura snapped, bitterly. _Look where competition brought Team 7._

"Anko-san!" Gai started, holding a fist in the air, dignified, "Sakura-san's done a GREAT job on her first day, so I think this needs a toast to both HER AND HER TEAM!"

Anko just rolled her eyes at the man.

"I…think I'll pass on drinking tonight, thank you," Sakura said. "Don't want another hangover."

In the corner, Ibiki leaned towards Kakashi, pointing at the woman. "Is it me or is she already attached to the kids?"

"Hm," the man answered.

"Tch. She used your techniques."

"Partly."

"And they succeeded way better than your team."

"Aa."

"Aren't you jealous?"

"Why?" Kakashi asked, loud enough for Sakura to hear him. "She's obviously doing a good job and being their babysitter. Not their sensei."

Two minutes, and one hijacked attempt at murder later, the group had to exit the bar in a hurry to catch up with the fight between teacher and student. The bets were already being made, and the balance was Kakashi's favour. Although Sakura had her scorn, for which reason, the fight ended shortly after she'd delivered a vicious kick to his side—and healed it.

It was clear that Sakura would not tolerate any sort of jab at both her students, and her teaching skills.

Somewhere in the Hokage Tower, Tsunade shed a proud tear.

* * *

**A/N:** Someone asked in their reviews why Sakura's name was that big of a pun. Here goes: Sakura means Cherry Blossom, right? Well, if said by the Japanese way, it's Haruno Sakura, OR, Haru(spring) No(of) Sakura(cherry blossom). And since the Japanese say it all backwards, when translating this to English it would be 'cherry blossom of spring'. So yes, I'm thinking her mother must have disliked her quite a bit to give her that name. Also because sakura flowers die quickly. (Is that a hint from Kishimoto? OH NOES!) END OF LESSON! 


	4. Chapter THREE

**A/N:** I'm strong. I will keep a strong spirit, and will not deviate from genfic-iness. ANYWAY. I really like Mara(this chapter shows it). And Jiro. And Hana. Brats are growing on me. Also, I once gave you two lines of Sai. This chapter gives you MORE! (I do love his helpful comments.)  
As for the timeline, you'll see that I'm trying to speed things up. I have many stuffings planned for this baby, but most fun starts after their Chuunin exam! So, until then, we're jumping through time. Like rabbits. Mmmm.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**  
_Have Your Cake And Eat It Too_

* * *

Time glided by like water, and before none of them realised, a week had passed. 

In that week, nothing important had occurred. If you count out the sparring session Kakashi forced Sakura—in front of her students, too, causing the kids to watch open-mouthed as their sensei cracked open the ground, and trees—into, saying it would help her students respect her—and it did. Now they were afraid of her. Sort of. But not quite.

Other than that, it was easy to not notice how time passed. Sai and Naruto were thrown into another long mission, Kakashi had to leave for his, and it seemed that every Jounin in the village was busy with something. Which of course, included Sakura, who was busy with training her team.

For some reason, they still had no name yet, as the team combined. Sakura wondered if she should call them 'team 7', but that hit too close to home, and as far as she could tell, none of them had foxes in their belly, or a clan to avenge. And if she remembered correctly—and she _did_—their assigned number had been the third. So.

Team 3.

Well that was a pretty, alliteration-filled name.

So the first week was spent in reasonable peace, with no teammates to drag Sakura out drinking, no Ino to sneak into her apartment with breakfast and demanding the infamous Haruno Milkshakes, and no Neji to get injured. Sakura alternated her day to training her kids, and visiting the hospital.

As the week ended, however, Sakura felt that more was needed to make her team work. Some sort of push. Some sort of gentle shove, maybe.

Not missions, they weren't ready for that. And Sakura did not want a repeat of _her_ own first mission on these kids. Sasuke and Naruto had dealt pretty well with near-death back then, but it had taken Sakura a few hours of muffling hysterics into her pillow when she'd gotten home, before she had fully recovered. Judging by her kids, she reasoned they'd be the same as her.

First, she had some investigating of her own to do.

------

Akimichi Chouji was, to say the least, surprised when Sakura had turned up at his house, close to lunch.

"I have one of your relatives as a student," she said for a greeting. "I'll buy you lunch and you can tell me more about her bitchy mother."

Five minutes later, they sat at a comfy table in the only restaurant Konoha had—excluding the ramen stand—sharing a plate of meatballs.

"So, you got assigned a genin team? Shikamaru told me when I arrived," Chouji began. _He could've told me you'd be on my case, too. _

"Yeah, and they're okay kids, you know? Not too troublesome, not too high up on their pedestals. They have no special techniques, or bloodlines—as of now, but I plan to teach them—and they give me little trouble."

"So what's the problem, then?"

"Well, their goals in life seems so…I don't know. Small. I guess I'm used to all those 'avenge clan' and 'become Hokage' lines, that I get a bit disappointed when all they want is to 'be as best a ninja as they can'."

"At least they try," Chouji pointed, leaning back to observe his order of sushi with adoration.

"Trying won't get you living," Sakura groused, poking at one slice of raw fish. "I mean, back when I was young _I_ tried, and all I did was try. It took one bitch grabbing my hair and a couple of freaks threatening my team-mates to get me off of trying and into _doing_."

"So you want to help them not repeat your mistakes."

"Something around that line, yes."

"Hmm, well," Chouji started, tapping his mouth with a chopstick. "It's usually good to learn from your own mistake. Think of how you were, when you were young. If Kakashi-san had told you to train, made you train as much as the guys, you'd have complained about how unfair it was. Instead he let you experience defeat, and that got you raving towards success."

"Hold up," Sakura interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "First, what's with all this Kakashi-sensei Defense Front? And second, how do you know all that about me?"

Chouji shrugged. "Shikamaru tells me what you tell him. Only with his own reasonings."

Sakura gripped her chopsticks. A mile from there, in the Hokage Tower, Shikamaru felt cold air wash over him like some sort of impeding doom.

"So, what relative of mine do you have?" Chouji asked quickly, before Sakura would steam some more.

"Ah. Right. Uhm, Akimichi Mara," she answered.

Chouji's face fell. "Oh."

"What? What, is she some sort of renegade? What's with the 'oh'?"

"No, it's just that…now I know why you called her mother a bitch," Chouji said, rubbing his neck. "Tell me all about it."

"Well, Mara says she was forced to join the ninja corps by her mother, because it would get her slim. I honestly think that woman—and I don't know her—is fucking stupid."

"She is. She's not from the Akimichi clan, Mara's father is. He was my father's cousin."

"Was?"

"He died in an ANBU mission two years ago. Mara was nine at that time. Her mother sort of…didn't take it well. She started thinking her husband had died because of the Akimichi bloodline. She went on a frenzy about how important it was to be _slim_ in order to be a ninja—not that she knows, she's not really one anyway—and Mara took the burnt of it."

"So now her mother is trying to get Mara to be slim," Sakura muttered. "Is she stupid? How will the girl use your techniques if she's slim?"

"Ah, well, I wouldn't know. From what I've heard, losing her father—and relatively losing her mother, too—has made Mara into something of an apathetic person. She doesn't put much interest in becoming a ninja, because that's her mother's dream. By forcing her to become one, just to be slim, that woman has sucked out all the fun in it."

"What a bitch. Tch. Well, I'll take care of it," Sakura said, nodding fiercly.

"Sakura, it's not that I don't appreciate your help towards Mara-chan, but…please don't get into a personal war with the Akimichi clan. They'd eat you alive," he said.

"I have more tact than that. I'm not going to fight the mother. Not yet, anyway."

Chouji sighed, wondering if he had unknowingly unleashed war upon his clan. He just hoped he wouldn't have to fight Sakura in the honour of the clan, because the woman packed a mean punch.

------

The next day, Sakura showed them how to channel chakra into their feet, and made them walk up a tree.

Hana caught on quicker than the rest, and soon she was sitting on a branch almost at the same level as Sakura. From below Jiro grumbled something about how it wasn't fair, since Hana had long legs. His protests were interrupted by a hit to his shoulder—courtesy of Mara—and a well spoken 'stop complaining and just do it'.

Five minutes later the remaining students had managed to manipulate chakra well enough for them to reach a high branch.

"Right, we're taking a lunch break," Sakura shouted, jumping down from the tree. "You can go home and eat, I'll meet you bunch here at…five. We're having our first mission."

The kids grinned at each other in anticipation, and were soon off. Hana and Jiro walked in one direction, and Mara set off to her house. Sakura caught up with her.

"Hey, you like potatoes, right?" she asked, stepping to a walk near the girl.

"Eh? Um…yes, sensei," the girl answered.

"Well, Ichiraku's created this new beef-and-potato ramen this morning. Wanna go? My treat," Sakura said, smiling.

"Um…but…well…"

"Come on, what have you got to lose, kid? A quiet lunch at your home? Or an awesome lunch—for free, might I add—with your scary sensei?"

"You're not scary, Haruno-sensei," Mara said, as they started walking towards Ichiraku's ramen stand.

Ten minutes and a bowl of ramen for each later, Sakura began setting her plan in motion. "I talked to a relative of yours the other day. Chouji?"

"What about Chouji-kun?" Mara asked, looking up from her bowl.

"I asked him to tell me about your family, since I was wondering…and it's good to know your students."

"I see," the girl answered, deflating slowly.

"Don't get sad, Mara-chan. Listen, your mother probably suffered a lot from the loss, and I know you have too. I'm not going to ask you to be a ninja if you don't want to. You're always free to quit. But, if you _do_ want to continue, I'll tell you this. I'm not going to help you get slim. Being a ninja won't get you to be slim and popular. It's a gritty job, and if you're in it for the looks chances are you'll loose your mind, and maybe your life. Your mother might not know it, but it's true. And I'm not going to get into a fight with her as of now, but I'll ask you to think about what _you_ want, not what she wants, honey. If you want to be the greatest ninja you can be, then hell have me if I don't help you be one. But if you like to eat, eat all you want. The Akimichi clan has always been chubby, and look at Chouji—he's an awesome ninja, very powerful. If you want to follow an example, follow his."

"S-sensei," the girl whispered, tears gathering in her eyes.

Sakura's heart went out to her, and she pulled the girl in for a hug. "Listen, Mara-chan. Do you want to be a ninja?"

"Y-yes…"

"And do you want to be a ninja, not to become slim, but to honour your father, or because you _know_ you can become great?"

"Yeah. I wanna be good, and I want 'tou-san to be proud, but…"

"You also like to eat," Sakura concluded.

"Yes! I mean, I don't know why she doesn't get it, but it's in our nature. We have a healthy appetite!" the girl explained.

"I know," Sakura nodded. "Well then, it's settled. From now on, when you come to my training, don't come thinking about how soon you'll lose weight, but thinking about how soon you'll improve your fighting skills, okay?"

"Yes, sensei," the girl said, smiling slightly.

"That being settled, do you want seconds?" Sakura grinned.

"Yes, please," Mara said, nodding eagerly.

------

Lunch was over, and Sakura gathered Team 3 around her for mission details.

"Now that you're all fed and such, your mission is to get Ota-san back to his home. But first you have to find him. I have a picture of him, wait…ah, here," she said, displaying a picture.

"Sensei, all that's there is an old lady and a black cat," Jiro pointed out.

"The black cat is Ota-san. He's ran away from his home, and you have to retrieve him."

"Cat-huning?" Jiro whined. "That's so…_lame_, though."

"Hey, it's a newbie mission that everyone gets. Ota-san is like the…initiator in ninja-ness," Sakura scolded him, then shoved the mission scroll and picture at the boy. "Stop being a brat and get to it. Come on, time's wasting!" she snapped.

Jiro turned around with an unsatisfied grumble, slutching the scroll in his hand. Hana was near him, whispering something about 'I think it's a cute mission', and Mara stayed behind, looking at Sakura.

"What?" the woman snapped.

"Thank you for everything, sensei," the girl said, bowing politely.

"It was nothing, now shoo," Sakura said, smiling slightly as she shoed the girl away. "Ota-san's owner gives cookies to those who retrieve him, and her cookies are _awesome_."

------

"I'm a weak, _weak_ sensei," Sakura moaned, curled up on the grass. "I don't teach them discipline, I take them out for _lunch_. What the hell is wrong with me?"

Sai didn't pause in his painting, not even looked at her as she whined. He'd returned from his mission just that morning, and Sakura had managed to find him at the top of a hill where he usually went to paint. On a good day, he would tell her to leave, because she was interfering with all the beauty, but today it was obviously not a good day.

"Yeah, they finish their missions so damn quick thanks to their teamwork, but I always have the impression that I have no influence over that. And whenever I try to be strict, they do something like grin, and I'm all _melting_, Sai," Sakura whined.

"Perhaps," Sai observed, pausing in his activity, "your maternal instinct is showing up."

"Hmm…nah, I don't think I have one," Sakura said, looking at the painting over his shoulder.

"I have been told that ugly women often compensate their loneliness by growing cats—or kids, in your case," the man observed calmly.

That evening, Sakura gave Sai her very own welcome-home gift, by smashing his face into his painting. Twice.


	5. Chapter FOUR

**A/N:** Thanks all for your helpful comments. This chapter is dark. There's still humour in it, but this one's a dark and sad one. Had to be done. Please read the notes at the end.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**  
_Three Cheers For Lady Sorrow_

* * *

If Sakura had to call her assigned team anything by the end of the first month, it wasn't what everyone else called it.

Some people called her team average. Those people didn't matter, in Sakura's opinion, because they were _wrong_, and therefore _stupid_. Team 3 was not average. Sure, it didn't have a taijutsu expert, or a weapon expert, or a genjutsu expert, or an Uchiha, Hyuuga, Kiba, and so on. If bloodline counted, her team had Mara. As an Akimichi, the young girl was doing well in demonstrating the world that she could very much beat everyone up without the need of being slim. As for the rest, they're just skill. Expertise is earned through tears, sweat and blood. Not by being born into it. The problem was when Sakura would start to consider which area would suit which student.

Sakura would call her team 'full of potential'. Hana was starting to show a lot of potential in chakra manipulation—something that pleased Sakura to no end—but was also deadly accurate with her aim. Jiro, it seemed, had a great memory, as well as good abilities in hand-to-hand combat. Some of his jutsus needed polishing, but nothing vital. And as for Mara, she'd started showing more interest in becoming a ninja, after her talk with Sakura. The girl had begun practicing the various Akimichi-clan's techniques, as well as taijutsu. Jiro and she seemed to have a lot of fun sparring against each other.

Regardless their interest in specific categories of the ninja way of fighting, Sakura still faced herself with the most difficult task. Setting them a pattern.

------

As usual, a routine in their game, it seemed that whenever Sakura had doubts about herself, she would go to Kakashi. The reasons were simple in most cases:

If she went to Tsunade, the Hokage would just shoo her out the door and ask Sakura where the hell she'd hid all her sake.

If she went to Naruto, the man would just nod and encourage Sakura that everything she did was perfect.

If she went to Sai…well…it was _Sai_. It could only end in blood. His.

In this case, however, she went to her former-sensei for the sole reason that he knew what to do in these cases. Personal experienced helped more than brains or encouragement. Or alcohol.

So after about a month since his departure, Kakashi returned from his mission. He was tired. He wanted sleep. He wanted his comfy bed. And he wanted to avoid the hospital as much as possible.

But, as the saying goes, if Mahoma can't go to the mountain…

"What are you doing in my apartment?" Kakashi asked, a neutral look on his face.

Sakura looked up from the book she'd been reading, and smiled. "Wetting your plants."

One—the only visible—eyebrow raised as he plucked the book out of her hands, looking at the cover. "Icha Icha Paradise? Really, Sakura…"

"I was curious. It's like psychology. Getting into the brain of your perverted old sensei by reading his porn books," she defended, unfazed.

"Well, if you're gonna start copying me in every aspect, pick an updated version," he droned, putting the book on its shelf, and taking a seat. "That one has about your age."

"I'm not copying you," she muttered. "So…you should lock your apartment, you know?"

"Why? So it could be a challenge to get in?"

"There is that. And because people could steal things from you."

"They wouldn't. Why are you here? Really."

"Alright, alright. I need your help with something. Something about my students…" she said, then after a moment added: "And someone has to check you for injuries since you won't go to the hospital. Old brat."

Kakashi shook his head. He got no respect from these young people.

------

Twenty minutes later, Sakura had him checked fully for any injuries, gave him the ritualistic 'there's nothing that wrong with the hospital, you should visit…if only to see my cheerful face after a long and tiring mission' versus his own '_what_ cheerful face, Sakura?', followed by a bit of 'if you don't come to the hospital next time I'll drag you there kicking and screaming like a baby, and then you'll see the people go _that was the famous Copy Ninja…once_', and ending with Kakashi's famous dotdotdot answer. Following that, Sakura neatly offer to prepare some dinner while she mulled him for all the information he had.

"So far, Mara will stick to the Akimichi jutsus. I'm thinking of asking Chouji to train with her whenever he has the time, but I don't want to separate the team just yet. I remember what happened when you started teaching Sasuke, and left Naruto in Ebisu-san's care. One part of the team always ends up neglected," she said, stirring into a pot full of noodles.

"You know, Sakura, it was never my intention to—"

"I know, I know. I got over it, didn't I?" she said, smiling at him over her shoulder.

"With the way you treat me sometimes I think you still hold a grudge," Kakashi muttered, flatly.

"I do it because I _care_."

"Abusive…"

"Shut up. Anyway. So as I was saying, Mara's got the Akimichi techniques, but if she ever wants to do something else, I won't stop her. Hana has good aim, and Jiro is good in taijutsu, but I'm not sure…I don't want to restrict them. I want to have them—"

"You can't have them being the best in every domain, no matter how much you want it, Sakura," Kakashi murmured, helpfully. "My advice would be to train them equally in every domain there is, making sure they're good. After they're good, then you can choose one speciality for each—or better yet, let them find their calling and chose it by themselves."

"Like you did with Sasuke?" she asked, quietly.

"That was—"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…ugh. Here I am, asking for advice, and I'm ruining the whole dinner atmosphere," she muttered, before pouring the noodles into different cups.

"I thought Sasuke was a bit like I was in the past," Kakashi admitted, a moment later. The kitchen was bathed in silence.

"And you tried to help him not make the same mistakes?"

"I think," he began, rubbing his chopsticks together, "I think in the end I only made it worse."

Sakura placed a bowl of noodles in front of him, then let her hand dwindle on his shoulder. "He chose the path he chose all by himself. The only thing you did was to teach him a jutsu. But every other step was his own. Don't burry yourself under the angst, eh?" she said, smiling a bit. "Or I'll drag you out of there and it won't be pretty."

He nodded in appreciation, and Sakura sat down. And waited, looking at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked, smirking slightly.

"I'm not hungry."

"You're _famished_. Come on, Kakashi, eat the lovely dinner your lovely student cooked for you," she sang.

"Ex-student. And you only did this to see my face, didn't you?" he asked, watching her with a critical eye.

"You think I'm capable of such a thing?"

He raised an eyebrow, and answered. "Yes."

------

In the end, Sakura ended up leaving shortly after dinner, but only when she made sure Kakashi wouldn't dive straight into that river or regrets he so loved to swim in.

The dinner had been productive—even if Kakashi hadn't taken off his mask, eating only after she'd left his home, the sneaky bastard. At least now Sakura had a more clear view on what she had to do with her team.

On her way home, however, she saw a familiar figure, training on her team's grounds. She jumped into a tree and peered closer.

It was Jiro.

"What are you doing up this late, kid?" she asked, jumping down beside him.

He turned around, blushing slightly like a kid caught with his hand in the cooking jar. "Well, I…I couldn't…"

"You know," Sakura started, a hand perched on her hip. "I understand you want to surpass your brother, but exhausting yourself like this isn't going to help."

"You don't get it, sensei, it's more…it's more complicated than that…it's just…"

"Does it have to do with family business?"

The boy looked at her for a moment or two, as if debating with himself on what to say next. Then he stiffened, and turned away to gather up his weapons. "Forget it, sensei. It's nothing you should care about. I'm sorry I bothered you."

"Sakamura," she growled, and the boy tensed. "I'm your sensei. Of course I fucking care. If you don't want to tell me, fine. But don't get lost on the road to power. It's not a pretty trip."

He paused, his back towards her. Nodding once, he said, "Don't compare me with your old team-mates. This has nothing to do with it," and then he left.

------

That night, Shikamaru was jostled awake by the familiarly strong grip of Haruno Sakura.

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" he grumbled, irate.

"Ino gave me the key. It's an emergency, wake up. I need your genius mind. I'll compensate you in…whatever it is you want compensation," she whispered, dragging him out of bed.

It seemed it was in Shikamaru's genes to be dragged around by everyone. Or better said, by women. Or better said, his boss, his workmate, Ino, and his mother. Four of them were bad enough, either way.

"So, say that again. Ino gave you the key to my apartment?" he asked, taking a seat on his couch while Sakura brought the coffee in. Normally he'd never let anyone touch his kitchen, but at the moment he's too lazy and sleepy to care.

"Yeah, bout right," she answered, taking a seat beside him, then placing two folders on the table in front.

"My…girlfriend…gave you the key to my apartment, so you could visit me in the middle of the night?"

"No, Shikamaru, I'm not going to ravish you against the couch," Sakura said, sighing in an irate fashion. "Now can we get down to business?"

He sipped his coffee, and was silent for a moment. "…not even a little?"

She gave him a blank stare. Then raised an eyebrow in a dangerous manner, leaning forward in what was supposed to be a sensual way, but—

"Right, okay, business, then," Shikamaru said, picking up a folder. "What's this emergency about?" he asked, clearing his throat. Loudly.

Sakura was fighting a smirk. She took a sip of her coffee, and proceeded. "I want to find out the most I can about Sakamura Jiro, and his family. I want to know why he trains so much, why he wants to surpass his brother when said brother's only a Chuunin, what are his traumas, the whole lot. I need to know what keeps my 11 year old student training in the middle of the night, alone."

For two hours, they reviewed every little bit of those two thick folders Sakura had brought in. Some of them contained pretty classified information that, in Shikamaru's opinion, meant only one thing. Sakura had obviously done some breaking and entering in the archive room. _The day this woman becomes a mother…we're doomed._

Two hours passed, therefore, with comments from each, whenever they found something important. Sakura had at one point summoned a paper where they noted down every bit of information. In the end, they had something potentially frightening.

_Sakamura Jiro  
11 years old  
Both parents: alive  
One older brother: chuunin. Aged 16.  
Family is very traditional. Older son inherits.  
Medical History:  
Age 0-after three months of incubation, the Sakamura's second son was declared a healthy baby. Mother: okay.  
Age 3-Sakamura-san has brought their second in for the necessary check-up before ingression in the Academy. Son presents good health. Strange anomaly near the eyes. Possible new bloodline development.  
Age 5-Sakamura Jiro presents the remarkable health of a boy his age. Anomaly seems to have disappeared. Prescribed glasses for bad eyesight, temporary.  
Age 7-Sakamura Jiro ingresses for two months, presenting a strange formation in his retina. Diagnosed: cancer. Placed for surgery.  
Age 8-After using the healing Jutsus, Sakamura Jiro has recovered from his disease. Secondary effects however, are present, such as the change of his eye colour, and loss of hair. Also loss of appetite, and apathy. Respectable parents have decided to pull Sakamura-kun out of the Academy. _

For a long full ten minutes, neither moved.

"Shit," Shikamaru murmured, his coffee gone cold.

Sakura couldn't agree more.

------

It was a good thing the next day had been Sunday, and the kids had the day off, because Sakura didn't know if she could've dealt with seeing them at that time.

So she'd spent that day setting her next plan of action in course. Therefore, when Monday morning rolled in, she arrived at the training grounds with a scroll under her arm and a smile on her face.

"Wake up, brats, it's mission time today. We're going on our first real mission, an escort to an old man. You'll love this one, it's all filled with walking around, watching how trees move, and trying not to get killed by a branch," she explained.

The girls stared at her, while Jiro was busily avoiding her eyes. "Sensei, why suddenly a mission…you said we weren't prepared yet," Hana started.

"Well, you're not fully prepared for a C class mission. But this is a D class, and it should be very easy for you to conclude. The point here is to gather up experience, in the field, in training, in missions, in everything. You can learn all you want from books, but when you do a jutsu you do it from your body, not from your books."

"And…you think we're ready for this?" Mara asked.

"I think you're prepared to give your best. And I think you're ready for this mission. The thing is, I'm going to increase your training from the minute we return. We'll do weights, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, we'll train with weapons, I'll teach you the basic medical healing, everything's going to go up one level—and I'll be deciding on giving you each a special jutsu to define you."

"Why?" Jiro finally spoke.

"Because, my dear brat of a student—and I am so glad you asked—I plan to prepare you all for this," she said, and opened up a scroll.

**_Chuunin Exams: 15th October_**

"Chuunin exams? But those are only…three months from now!" Hana said, eyes wide in surprise.

"I hear people die in there—"

"People do not _die_ in there," Sakura said. Well. They did, but what was the point of letting them get scared so fast? "Are you going to whine like babies? Or are you going to take this as a challenge to be the best? You know, in the village they smirk at me because my genin team is average. I have no special super bloodline, and no extra-cool kid. But I think they're wrong. I think you've got potential. I think you can do this. Definitely. So. In or out?" she asked, looking at them seriously.

"In," Hana said, smiling.

"Definitely in, sensei," Mara agreed.

Jiro wasn't looking at them, rather staring at the still-opened scroll. After a moment, he lifted his head, grinning widely. "Let's show the village how wrong they are." _Thank you, sensei,_ his eyes said.

Sakura just smiled, accomplished.

**A/N:** Poor Jiro, right? ;.; Anyway, right. Jiro had cancer. Yes, had. He doesn't have it anymore, because they managed to extirpate it on time. Is cancer possible in Naruto-verse, you ask? Good point. I think it is. After all, people smoke. People smoke, and drink like holy hell. They can have cancer. It's just that they don't cure it the same way. So Jiro was cured by Jutsus that I'm not going to create, so we'll leave that obscure for the sake of plot. And not sounding ridiculous. Because Nomorecancer-no-jutsu? Just. No. Anyway. His baldness, now you have your answer, comes from secondary effects. Just like chemotherapy. Right. That being said, I'm sorry and promise to return to my usual humour in the next chapter. However, that ending made me weep. Kishimoto-sensei so would write such a thing. Ah…clichés… 


	6. Chapter FIVE

**A/N:** Another one of those sad chapters, because Sasuke kept wangsting at me that I never ever mentioned or used him. Here you go, bitch. You're used now. How'd you like it? Every time I write about him, even in a passing mention, the chapter turns dark and emo. DAMN YOU. Ah well, at least I try to add humour to lessen down the bitterness. Starting next chapter I hope to bring back humour—have something planned, oh yessum!—so stay tuned in, and leave reviews to know you like it. Or hate it. Or whatever.

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**  
_Seven Years To Let You Go_

* * *

The mission went almost exactly as Sakura had expected it would go.

The day she'd asked Tsunade to entrust her team with a D class mission, she'd told the Hokage specifically to watch what she chose. Sakura did not want a repeat of her own first mission. But this one started D class, and ended D class—even though Mara silently whispered it was more like B class "for Boring"—without any mishaps. The man they had to escort was one Takenouchi Hatori, a painter of sorts. He'd come to Konoha to inspire himself in the scenery there, for a supposed future masterpiece. Takenouchi-san had turned out to be, aside from a struggling artist, a _paranoid_ one. The man was firm in his belief that his rivals wanted to steal his sketches and paintings—which he always carried with him, all the time—and therefore, he hired Sakura's team.

The mission consisted of walking around, watching how trees moved and being careful not to get killed by a branch, just like Sakura had said.

"Right, well. I suppose next time we'll ask for a more risky one?" the woman asked, on the way back. Her students looked tired, but their faces changed a bit when seeing the familiar gates of Konoha.

It was the people standing _near_ the gates that made Sakura both glad, and a bit wary. Sai and Naruto were back from their own respective missions, and that could only mean one thing. The next day, she'd have another hangover.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaan," Naruto greeted boisterously, waving his arms at them. "Welcome back from your missiooooooooon! I'm sure it was greaaaaaa—"

"Will you shut up already?" Sakura dryly acknowledged, now pretty much in front of Naruto. "How did your mission go?" she asked.

"It went great!" Naruto explained, not paying much mind to the three kids that were watching him curiously. "I totally kicked those bandits' asses, and Tsunade-baa-chan will be so proud. I prevented a _war_, how cool is _that_?"

"Naruto," Sakura hissed, "Don't call the Hokage like that in front of my students. They'll pick up your bad manners and then I'll kill you."

The blond man finally acknowledged the kids, and crouching in front of them, he grinned saucily. "Have I mentioned I prevented a war?" he asked them.

"How'd you manage?" Hana asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sakura just rubbed her forehead as Naruto started telling them of his adventures. The worst part was the fact that he wrote his reports with the same words and exclamations that he told them about his missions—and this she knew after having heard Shikamaru complain about one too many times.

"How did yours go?" she asked Sai, who remained silent, separated from the group, observing.

"Good," he answered.

"Where were you sent?"

"Mm."

"Oh, I see. Secret?" she asked. Secret usually meant ANBU Ne missions. Sai nodded briefly. "Are you hurt?"

He gave her a look from the corner of his eyes. "No, I'm fine."

"I'll give you both a medical review later," she said, the stepped closer to his side. "Oi, pervert. Stop ogling my students."

He turned towards her with a beatific smile, "Between them and you, I am inclined to watch the most pleasing group, Ugly."

Sakura was, of course, preparing to bestow upon Sai his warm 'welcome home, stupid ass' punch, when Naruto declared loudly: "RAMEN FOR ALL! MY TREAT!" and dragged them towards Ichiraku.

------

"Oh, man, I remember when I was preparing for Chuunin," Naruto said, two bowls of ramen empty in front of him. "With Kakashi-sensei always being late, and those training grounds—man, they were so _green_ and wide, you know? But Sasuke-idiot and I managed to burn them once while sparring, and I remember Sakura punching me so _hard_ it ended up hurting for months."

"Why did sensei punch you?" Mara asked.

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Me, Naruto. I'm their sensei," Sakura explained, distractedly looking into her bowl. She knew this story, and she didn't like it. Any part of her past that reminded her of how weak she had been, she did not like.

"Oh, right! Sorry, Sakura-chan, I just haven't gotten used to it," he laughed, rubbing his neck. "Anyway, she punched me because I'd ended up burning Sasuke's hair."

"Who was Sasuke?" Jiro quipped, interested.

"He was—"

"No-one," Sakura whispered to her ramen.

"—my best friend," Naruto answered, not having heard her. "We knew each other since the Academy, but Sasuke was very—"

"Lonely," Sakura told her food, quietly.

"—popular, especially with the girls. You should've seen Sakura-chan, she spent a lot of time during childhood pining after him, like—"

"An idiot," Sakura said to her glass of water, before drinking it entirely. It was only with the quiet settling over their table that she realised they'd heard her. "Well…I did," she muttered, shrugging.

"And…where is he now?" Hana asked.

"He's gone," Naruto answered.

"He betrayed the village and his friends in exchange for power, ran away with Orochimaru and is responsible for the wars between Sound and Leaf," Sakura answered, more precisely.

"Sakura-chan…"

"What, Naruto? What? It's the _truth_. Do you think that if you never call it by its name, he'll turn back to us?" she snapped, rubbing at her eyes. "How many times more do we have to try for him to return? Four? Five? A hundred? Face it, Sasuke isn't the Sasuke we knew," she muttered, and stood up from the table. "I'll be right back."

They watched her leave. Sakura headed towards the women's bathroom, entering and locking the door behind her. A mirror greeted her above the sink, and she leaned her palms against the wall above her, forehead against the mirror. It was cool, and it calmed her down. She closed her eyes, and Sasuke's face came to her mind. The third time Naruto'd went after him, Sasuke had tried to kill him again, but that time…that time Sakura had managed to act, punching the boy so hard he flew into a wall nearby.

_"You're different."_

That one had ended with the three of them hurt, and Sasuke's own team sustaining injuries. But Naruto and Sakura tried again. And again. And each and every time, Sasuke tried to kill them both, they defended themselves, went home, and then returned. But to Konoha they always returned with nothing but blood on their hands. The seventh time, Naruto had almost died during a one-on-one battle against the Uchiha second son, and Sakura had gotten there just in time to run a chakra-infested kunai through the man's arm, causing his Chidori to stop.

_"Definitely different. More…worthy."_

Sakura had given up on him then. She'd been nineteen when her dreams crashed beneath her feet. Nineteen when her heart had broken, and ever since, in her mind she always knew that saving Sasuke was useless. Sasuke didn't want to be saved. Naruto would realise that too, one day. Hopefully before the ex-Konoha nin killed him. Before they killed each other.

_"You're different, Sakura."_

"Get out of my head," Sakura growled, opening her eyes. She blinked, forcing any tears away from her eyes. Leaning back, she turned on the faucet, washed her face, and straightened up. "I'm better. Nothing's wrong with me," she said, smiling at the reflection. Above the mirror, five symmetric dents had been left in the wall. Her fingers.

Flinching slightly at that, Sakura left the bathroom, returning to her table, where Naruto was telling the kids something. She took a seat.

"Better?" came the whispered question from Sai.

Sakura nodded.

"—and that's the moral of this story," Naruto finished, looking smug.

"Never wear pants near a bullfrog?" Jiro asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Exactly."

"Naruto…what have you been telling them?" Sakura croaked, mimicking Jiro's expression.

"His adventures with Jiraiya," Sai answered for the blond. "Mostly the part with the bath-houses."

"_Naruto_," Sakura hissed, dangerously low tone of voice.

"A-a-a-ah, well, Sakura-chan, it wasn't that, it…he's lying!" the man accused, pointing at Sai.

"Sai doesn't lie, idiot," Sakura growled, punching the Hokage-aspirant in the jaw. "Stop teaching my students perverted things!"

There was another scuffle, a bit of strangling-of-Naruto on Sakura's part, and a bit of begging-for-mercy from Naruto's, before they settled down again.

"A-ah...um…Sai-san," Hana said, after a while. "Do you remember your time as a chuunin?"

"No," the ANBU Ne member answered. "Useless memories as those were forgotten."

"What's _his_ deal?" Jiro muttered, off-handed.

"He's an emotional retard," Sakura cheerfully supplied the answer. "But we love him anyway."

------

Later, after lunch—which Naruto dutifully paid—the children were sent to their homes. The men accompanied Sakura home for her to shower and change before they dragged her out in town.

"If you're coming in, anyway, I'll give you a medical check-up," Sakura said, entering her apartment.

She headed to her bedroom to pick a towel and hit the shower, leaving the boys in the living room. Or so she thought. Naruto chose the exact moment she was taking off her top to enter her room.

"Ne…Sakura-chan," he murmured, and it was only his tone of voice what kept her from instantly killing him.

"What?"

He closed the door behind him, then moved quickly, pulling her into a tight hug. She placed her arms on his back.

"I'm sorry I brought him up and upset you," he whispered. "But in a way, I can't give up the idea—"

"I know. Neither could I," she whispered back. "For a while I hated myself so much, the months after the last time we saw him. When I healed you on that field, I knew he wasn't Sasuke anymore, I knew I could never love that monster, and I _knew_ I would never try to save him, not after he did that to us. And it hurt, and I hated it, because the little girl in me screamed that everything was still possible."

"When…after you healed me then, when I carried you home…when you were exhausted from chakra depletion and muttering, I knew. I knew what you knew," he whispered, holding her impossibly close, his nose buried in her hair. "And it hurt just as much."

"We can't have everyone, Naruto. Some of us chose the wrong path, and stayed on it, even when we tried to help, time and time again," she said. "We have to move on. We can't afford to let another seven years pass before moving on."

"You're right." They stayed like that, in a comfortable embrace, soaking each other's warmth, while the cold resolution they'd reached crashed over them. They stayed there for five minutes, and maybe they cried. Or maybe they didn't. Seven years _did_ change a person, and at twenty-two years of age both had stopped being emotional teenagers. In that moment, they were simply emotional adults. The five minutes passed.

"Naruto," Sakura started, icily. "Are you trying to grope my _ass_ again?"

"Eheh."

But some things never changed, no matter how many years passed.

**A/N:** And now we know two more things! What happened to Sasuke, and how old they are! So, Sasuke is around and around with his Hebi Teamu, being all 22 years old, and still as emo-princess as ever, I suppose.


	7. Chapter SIX

**A/N:** Apologies for the delay! About this chapter. Mission time! I still suck at action, and will not show any open display of it until about the chuunin exams. So don't complain, please. I beg you. As for the mission, Hana's obviously the mature one of the group, but just as nice. Much like…Sai. Or something.

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX**  
_Team What Now?_

* * *

It was mid-morning, and the birds were chirping, peacefully sitting on the branches of the trees near training ground seven. That is, until a rain of kunai threatened their lives, and they fled. 

"Hana!" Mara shouted from up her tree branch. "Watch it, those almost got _me_!"

"They build character," the tall girl shouted back, smiling widely.

"I'm just saying," continued Jiro, from under one tree, where he was studying a scroll. "It's almost August, it's way too hot outside, and birds chirp. They shouldn't be chirping, they should be…melting. Or something."

"Birds don't melt," Hana said distractedly, throwing another shower of senbon needles this time, at the trees, for Mara to dodge. "I don't think they do. Do they?"

"With the right jutsu," Jiro answered.

"Ah, but then it's by man's hand. Doesn't count," she countered. "Do you think I should throw her a mace?"

"I think she might come back down and hit you with it," Jiro said, twirling the brush in his hand.

"Wouldn't that be the point?" she said, grinning slightly as she summoned a mace.

"TANAKA, THAT BETTER NOT BE USED FOR WHAT I THINK YOU'LL USE IT!" Mara shouted.

"I was just taking it out for a walk," Hana replied, smiling cheerfully up at the girl, before throwing the weapon.

Jiro shook his head. _Girls._

------

One week passed, slowly.

Hana trained her aim daily, Mara improved her work on the Akimichi fighting styles, and Jiro perfected his hand-to-hand combat. The days were hot, and the birds weren't melting—even though on occasions, Jiro had _tried_ it, with a jutsu or two, only to be thwacked by his comrades—although the people were very close to melting. Time passed slowly, Sakura was busy in the hospital, and the children were left to their own training—"It'll build character, you use this time to train each other, and gods help you if I don't see improvement when I'm back," had been their sensei's words. A week passed by, boring, long and hot.

By Sunday, the three younger components of Team 3 were prepared to march into the hospital with determination, and beg for their sensei's return. With…dignity.

They were spared of such thing, however, when Sakura was seen walking towards them, a large scroll in her hands. "Hey brats," she shouted, waving her hand. "Missed me?"

"No," was the collective answer.

"Liars," the woman muttered, stopping in front of them. "You're all lucky, I don't have time to analyse how much you've improved this week, because we have a mission. It's D-ranked, but I think we might be facing one of those missions than can easily turn C. Anyway, I think you're all ready for a bit more of action, so go home, eat, get your gear packed. We move at sunset."

By that time, even a mission chasing cats would've been welcomed. Anything to get away from the heat.

------

The middle of July presented a mild heat in Fire Country. On the outskirts of Fire country, near the border with Wind, however, it was a scorching hell.

Team 3 had been assigned on a mission on the outskirts of Fire country which consisted of what Sakura had called 'garbage disposal'. There was a very small gathering of petty thieves in a village nearby that was drying up the village's economy, and since a complaint had been filed, it had ended up Sakura and her team's duty to take care of the gang, and bring them forth to justice. Catch, capture and carry. But then of course, it wasn't exactly garbage disposal, considering they would carry them back to Konoha, rather…re-recycling.

Apparently, the heat was doing some crooked mind-skewering to Sakura's inner philosophical monologues.

This was, after all, their second day of mission, and they were more than affected by the heat.

"I'm going to throw a stone at the next bird who dares be chirpy," Mara grouched over her radio.

"Amen," Jiro huffed over his.

Sakura shook her head, reminiscent of the good—or bad, depending—old days, when she'd been sent on long missions like this one. With the same unbearable weather. It wasn't that their thieves were lazy, or well prepared. No. in fact, the previous day, Sakura and her team had monitorized the gang's motions, and with some bribery and expert information gathering—read, eavesdropping—in the village, they learned the pack of thieves had a rather strict routine. At about two in the afternoon, they would pass the exact place above which Sakura and her team were perched, and fall into the traps they had set. It was the waiting that was killing them.

"I spy with my little eye something…yellow," Jiro said.

"Sand," Hana answered before her line crackled with static.

"That was too easy, Jiro," Mara complained. "And stop reminding us of our misery."

"I know one," Hana quipped into her radio. "I spy with my little eye something sneaky."

"Target, incoming," Mara said, a grin in her voice.

"Finally," Jiro huffed.

------

Out of the five thieves that the gang consisted of, only two fell into their traps and we knocked out, leaving three in the 'tender loving care' of Sakura and her team.

"Who the fuck are you?" the largest man asked—probably the leader, or better known as Leader, since in Sakura's opinion, the bigger your pectorals, the closer to leadership.

"Team Sakura," Hana said.

The Adversaries suffered a small fit of laughter.

"And what are you gonna do? Attack us with petals?" Leader sneered.

"No. We're going to kick your asses," Jiro snapped, and attacked.

------

"We're going to kick you asses," Mara mocked, smirking slightly. "Never thought you'd be the one to say such a corny thing, Jiro-kun."

"Well, what did you want me to say? 'Yes, and after the petals, a day at the spa'? We need a better team name."

"What's wrong with Team Sakura?" Sakura asked from behind them, dragging the pile-o-thieves after her. "It's got character."

"And we could get a discount on unused pink shinobi clothes," Jiro retorted, giving her a look. "We'll never get taken seriously, sensei."

"That's not the point, is it? You've seen how the element of surprise can help you. If they think you're weak, they underestimate you, and then you win. Simple," she explained.

"It's better than Team Haruno," Mara murmured, smirking slightly.

"I heard that, too, young lady. You're all grounded," Sakura hissed at them, though there was a smile on her lips.

"Sensei's gonna make us run laps, oh noes," Jiro drawled.

"The pain," Mara snorted.

"The horror," Hana calmly finished.

"Your eyes will be bleeding by the time I'm finished with you, punks," the woman growled. _No respect from kids these days._

"We can always create a new name," Hana softly offered.

Sakura gave her a look that communicated 'I thought you were on my side, traitor'.

"How about Team Awesome?" Mara asked.

"I think Gai has that one reserved," Sakura muttered.

"Wasn't that Team Youthfullness?" Jiro asked.

"That one, too. And Team Zeal, too," she supplied.

"Well…how about Team Team?" Mara offered.

"How about Team SaMaJiHa?" Hana asked, easily ignoring Mara's suggestion.

"How about Team Sakura," the kunoichi bristled. "A team takes the name of its sensei. I'm your sensei, and my name is Sakura. Learn to live with this."

------

"P-petals," Naruto choked out, holding his stomach from laughing too hard.

"Shut up," Sakura snapped, taking a sip out of her glass.

"T-team petals, Sakura-chan. That should be it," the blond boy quipped, raising his glass. "I toast to the badass new gennin team! Team Peta—hurk!" Naruto gasped, nails grapping over the hand that had his neck trapped at that moment. "Sa……ku…..ra……..please……"

"You're going to kill him," Sai observed.

Sakura took another mellow sip from her drink. "Good."

Naruto flailed, then mentally prayed to gods in heaven.

"Hn. Don't make it messy," said Sai.

------

**Team Sakura  
Mission Reports: **

Sakamura Jiro: _Day one. Boring. Walking. Trees here are tall and pretty. Hana stubbed her toe on a rock. Mara's hair looks like a nest of…black…birds. Or something. Might be going insane due to heat. Surveillance went nicely. Perimeter settled. Went into village, discreetly interrogated villagers about the thieves. Found out about their routine.  
Day two. Boring. Set traps. Waited. Played I Spy to pass time. Tried to melt another bird. I feel compelled to suggest the inclusion of a crosswords puzzle in our mission pack, for next time. Adversaries arrived, five of them. Two fell into traps. Fought the other three. Sakura-sensei let us fight. Between the three, we defeated the Leader. Have been debating our team's name. I feel compelled to mildly suggest a change of name to our sensei.  
_  
Akimichi Mara:_ Day one. Boredom. Walking a lot. Left my favourite snacks at home. Hana-chan got hurt, but recovered courageously from it. We reached the village and did some typical ninja information gathering. Well, Hana-chan did, I just stood on look-out as the girl listened in on people. Went to bed, hungry.  
Day two. Boredom times two. Times eleven. Jiro sucks at inventing games. Target finally came through, five men, two fell into the traps, the other three we had to take out ourselves. Skillfull debate in between fighting: the name of our team.  
_  
Tanaka Hana:_ Day one. It's very hot. Mara-chan asked me for a band to tie her hair up in, but I had none, so I left her a senbon—which was at a posterior moment used to kill a bird. For dinner. I stubbed my toe with a rock, and could use chakra to heal it. I think Sakura-sensei would like to know this. We arrived at the village, and I climbed on the pagoda. You could hear everything from there, and it proved to be useful. Found information for the mission, regarding the thieves' itinerary. Moved out to camp, had dinner—birds, flambé—and did guard watch. I was first.  
Day two. Nothing notable happened until two pm. We set the traps, and waited. My team-mates have no creativity with games. Thieves arrived, two out of five fell into traps. We had to take the other three out. Only the Leader proved to be a challenge, other two fell under a rain of kunai and a kick to the head, respectively. Took Leader out between the three of us. I think Sakura-sensei approves of our improvement, but disagrees with our motions to change the name of our team. My apologies for any petitions that should reach you in the following days.  
_

Captain. Haruno Sakura:_ Kids. I hate them all._


	8. Chapter SEVEN

**A/N:** I mock school, especially since it's finally over! And I laugh in the face of college entry exams! But enough explanations about my absence. I have to say something about this chapter.  
HAH! BET YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING THIS!!! cough Anyway. I did say this would be Sakura-centric, most of all. It would focus on her adult days, and how her life changes from the point of receiving a genin team under her command. But do not worry! I promise you much intervention of Team Sakura in the following chapters! (OMG, I'm turning into Kishimoto with all these arcs and fillers.) More notes at the end. To the people reading this on fanfictiondotnet, I've a story for you. I started to write this on my journal, and then posted it here after getting answers there. It's Naruto fandom, and it still frightened me. So, during these weeks, the story on fanfictiondotnet has been behind. on livejournal, I had up to 6 chapter, and here only 4 had been submitted. During this past week, I've tried to bring it up to the same level. So now you know why the double-update today. Now the story is equal on both sides. If you haven't fallen asleep by now, go on with the story.

* * *

**CHAPTER EVEN**  
_Two Steps Forward_

* * *

By the beginning of August, Sakura had went from nice-sensei to drill-sergeant. She trained her team meticulously, attentively, and—to more than one person—mercilessly.

Some—mainly, the children—thought this was because of a grudge against their past offences to her name, and tried to redeem themselves by showing her, subtly so, how much they appreciated the name, how it could be used to bring fear into people, and so on. It was futile, and unfortunately, the woman's training schedule only increased and worsened. To the children, anyway. Topped with the heat of August, the climate of the Fire Country, the _birds_, and the tiring training, the three young students were seriously considering two things:

The first, knocking Sakura unconscious for a week. Maybe more. Only vacation, of course. And they deserved it, too!

The second, of course, was _I wish I hadn't chosen to be a ninja_.

Of course, like all sensei, Sakura knew of these desires—she did, admittedly, ask Kakashi for anecdotes countless of times, which presently, was turning out to have been a _smashing_ idea—so it should have come as no surprise when she kept on persisting with the training.

Two months. There were two months left until Chuunin exams, and she was stubbornly determined to have her team in top shape. Past mistakes, such as death and capture and betrayal and uselessness and so on, would not be repeated. Not in her team. And, besides, it was damn time to prove the older former-sensei that having two girls on a team wasn't making the team useless.

Therefore, and without further ado, she drilled them without pause, and was utterly proud of them. Not once did they ask for mercy. Or beg.

Okay, maybe they _had_ begged for mercy. But it was only once, and only because Mara's hand was broken. Still, they had determination, they had skill, they had potential, they had great team dynamics, and they had _a kick-ass sensei._ In Sakura's humble opinion, anyway.

The difference between the present generation of genin team and the past ones was that, with times being more calm and quiet, the menaces against Konoha being better retained, the Hokage had taken the liberty of…_experimenting_. Which actually meant she'd been stiff drunk and in Jiraiya's bad company while assigning the teams, but no-one needed to know that. Most teams still followed the traditional set-up, though some didn't. Sakura's team was, by far, the most experimental—which should be interpreted as 'average'—due to its lack of children with a great background, or great family bloodlines, and the like. Some thought it was a drawback. After all, Sakura _was_ Tsunade's apprentice, Kakashi's former student, and the best medic-nin in Konoha, not to mention a efficient kunoichi, a dangerous adversary, and one of the few who'd combated Akatsuki members and lived to tell the tale—while certain members, didn't. With all that background behind her, receiving such an average team was, in a way…anticlimactic.

Tsunade and Kakashi both agreed—during a meeting no-one knew of—that it would be just another challenge that Sakura would tackle with determination, and succeed.

Secretly, not many people would've doubted that.

------

"A _week_'s mission?"

"You know," Tsunade droned, pressing a hand to one ear, "you don't need to repeat everything I say, all the time, Sakura."

"You're sending me away for a _week_?" the younger woman asked, her tone still not going down from that flabbergasted screech.

"Loud," Tsunade muttered, covering both her ears, letting out a long, suffered sigh, and narrowing her eyes at her apprentice. "Yes, I'm sending you away on a mission that is supposed to last a week, or maybe more. Like I've explained it before you started to turn into a parrot, as a Tokubetsu Jounin specialized in medical jutsus will be needed in this mission. Plus, your taijutsu and genjutsu skills will be more than useful."

"Well, but—"

"Sakura. The team captain directing this mission has chosen specifically you as medic-nin and teammate."

"And I'm not saying I don't feel honoured about this, but it's a week, or more, and you've not told me even what the mission is about, Tsunade-shishou," the woman retorted mildly.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "I will tell you the details once you've agreed to taking this mission. Otherwise, you'll be denied the information."

Sakura paused for a moment. "You're…_blackmailing_ me? By withholding information?"

"It's possible."

The young woman gaped, flailed her arms, and wished it was Naruto or Sai who were before her. They were at least easier to punch. And they wouldn't kill her if she did punch them. "Mean," was her only accusation towards the Hokage.

"Perhaps I am, but it is a measure all the Hokages have to take. We must be able to control our people before controlling the—"

"I get it," Sakura muttered. She'd already heard the speech countless of times. It wasn't the first time Tsunade was blackmailing her like this. "And anyway, I was going to say yes to the mission, shishou. You should've know. It's just that…Chuunin exams are approaching so quickly, and—"

"I shall assign a qualified substitute to your team, Sakura."

"…as long as it isn't Ebisu."

"I said qualified," Tsunade muttered under her breath, before perking up. "You can view this as a good opportunity for your team. They'll have the chance to train with shinobi specialized in taijutsu, genjutsu, and the like. Things are getting active again in the mission front, so I'm thinking of having them train with Gai's team. Maybe then, each can improve weaponry attacks, chakra control and taijutsu better."

"That…would be very useful to them, I think," Sakura said, rubbing her chin. "But Gai can't force green jumpsuits on them."

Tsunade snorted. "I'm afraid not even I could stop him from that. Regardless," she waved dismissively, "this is also a good opportunity for _you_. Two years ago you asked me to recommend you in for Jounin, and I denied you that privilege. I told you you were not ready, and instead had you go for Tokubetsu Jounin, making you lean towards medical jutsus."

Sakura nodded, swallowing thickly. She still remembered the deception and disappointment she'd felt back then, and the days of depression that only Ino _and_ a night of drinking had been able to cure.

"I've been reconsidering that, Sakura. You're qualified enough to be a Jounin, and after you complete this mission, I'll recommend you. You'll have to find someone to train you in more ninjutsu, so you'll be basically on your own from there."

"Sensei—"

Tsunade held a hand up. "I'm not finished. Don't go thinking that I'm doing this for blackmail. Two years ago you weren't ready for Jounin ranks. You were brilliant as a medic-nin, and your chakra control and taijutsu were shaping up as well as your genjutsu skills were, but those alone wouldn't have been alone in a battle the level a Jounin fights. You're the best I've trained, girl, and I do _not_ take the idea of you dying off too kindly. So you'll understand why I denied you that recommendation, back then."

"Yes…"

"But time has passed, and you've proven yourself worthy of it. I see strategy, I see ability to control a team, to guide them through, and I see efficiency in almost all fighting styles. Once you finish this mission, I will give you up until after the Chuunin exams to polish up your ninjutsu, and then I'll recommend you. If you pass or not, it's your own problem."

"I know. I mean, thank you. Thank you for your confidence, shishou," Sakura answered, bowing down politely.

"Right," the older woman drawled. "So you better come back from this alive. And stop _smiling_ like you're about to jump over my desk and kiss me."

Sakura brought her smile to a mild quirk of lips, and cleared her throat. "I'll control myself, shishou. So…this mission? Why was I specifically requested?"

"Partly, because you're a good medic-nin, and this would be one of those A-ranks that could turn S-rank missions. And partly, because you have…experience…in this matter."

The young woman blinked. "Experience? What…"

"Your mission, Sakura, is to track down the Akatsuki members that remain."

------

When given the news, Mara was the first to react. "Ehh? Going away on a mission? But, sensei, our training…!"

"I thought you wanted a break from it?" Sakura said, narrowing her eyes. "And besides, don't think that just because I'll be gone you're not going to train with anyone. Tsunade-shishou will asses you a substitute, and you might learn a lot while I'm gone!"

"Why a week, though?" Hana asked, tilting her head.

"Mission requires it. But it could take longer. I'll be back before the exams, though, don't worry, eh?" she grinned as she finished her answer.

"Is it…dangerous?" Jiro questioned.

"Hm. Yeah. Yeah, it is," said Sakura, her grin fading a bit.

"Take care, eh, sensei?" Mara murmured over the silence that had settled in between them.

Sakura smiled, kindly. "I will. Oh, and another thing. If you end up in Gai's team, remember: green is your enemy, and so are jumpsuits."

"Yes, sensei!"

------

When Sakura arrived at the meeting point that night-near-morning, she wasn't surprised to find herself in a team compiled mostly of ANBU members. The one who was undoubtedly the Captain had his ANBU mask off, so it was easy to recognize him. Not that his mask on would've made it hard, either. That hair was known widely around the world. And he was heading her way.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she started, blinking and unable to cover up her surprise. "_You_'re the one who specifically requested me?"

Kakashi's visible eye squinted in what might have been a smile—though it was impossible to note, that early in the morning. "I did."

"Why?" was the only thing she could summon up.

The man rubbed the back of his neck before answering, "I've been thinking these weeks, during my missions—and not a sarcastic remark on that, please—and I've reflected over some things."

"Like which?"

"Well, a shinobi's life is short, and mine is…too full of regrets. So far, out of the three of you, I've only paid my dues with Naruto. I think it's time I avoided turning you into another mistake, and letting you be an accomplishment."

"That's…oddly poetic and twisted in the metaphor department, but…thank you," Sakura said, smiling up at him. "Would you lose the respect of your team if I hugged you right now?"

Kakshi shrugged, directing a glance towards the other members who were congregated at a distance, separated from the two of them. "I can always force it back later," he dully answered, before he found himself being squeezed into a typical content-and-about-to-cry-Sakura hug. "There, now," the man muttered, patting her head as he looked up at the sky. "I'm sorry I didn't do this earlier," he whispered.

"Forgiven," Sakura replied, her voice muffled, before she pulled away.

"So, Tsunade has informed you about the mission?"

She nodded. "Yeah, we're being sent to localize the Akatsuki members that remain alive, and track them. We've got to find them, observe, take as much information as possible, and then report back. Afterwards, Tsunade will send out the Niju Shotai to liquidate them one by one."

Kakashi nodded, approvingly. "Good, then. We should be heading off now."

"Yeah," she said, placing her hand over her waist. Sometime, long ago, there had been a scar there, caused by the only Akatsuki Sakura had helped kill—though not the only one she'd faced. Normally, missions like these required specialized shinobi, due to the dangers of it. Tsunade had found it more important to first know their enemy, and then combat them. Still, time was low, and so, they were given only one week to scout the lands. Sakura knew more teams had been assigned such a mission, and knew her role in this one would be not only to memorize the information, help with strategy, but also to heal. She would be their lifeline, of sorts. Sakura felt inmensely proud that Hatake Kakashi had chosen precisely _her_ to be on this team.

Before leaving, Sakura made sure to observe the other four members of the team. Two of them looked very unfamiliar, but the other two, she knew. One was ANBU as well, and even though the mask was pulled on, Sakura knew that beneath it was that oh-so-annoying fake smile of the bastard. The second one was a woman, a Jounin much as Sakura. Anko gave the young woman a grin. _This will be interesting,_ Sakura decided.

"Alright," Kakashi's voice broke through the silence, his mask pulled on. "Let's move out."

It was dawn when Sakura's new team left Konoha.

Three weeks would pass until they returned.

* * *

**A/N:** Before you ask, I would like to say that yes, I am, in fact, quite evil. Plan to take over the world, too. But I won't bore you with that campaign, it's still in construction. Anyway, explanations! I think Tsunade's rant explains it all very well, and Kakashi's reasons plus Sakura's last reflections sum it up. If you do have doubts, please ask. But I try to avoid these plotholes, so let's recap. She's a Tokubetsu Jounin because her ninjutsu still sucks, and because Tsunade wouldn't let her apply for Jounin till she got better; but because Sakura _is_ good, she was made Tokubetsu. Now Tsunade thinks Sakura could stand a chance, so she's letting her prove, through this mission, that her fight against Sasori wasn't pure luck, and that she lived because she deserved it (man, there are so many good essays about why her role in that arc was vital, just read those, okay?). Kakashi asked for her specifically, because Sakura's the one he's always left behind in Team 7, and now he knows that was wrong to do. Redemption, people! IT LIVES! And the bastard is obviously Sai. Duh. I threw Anko in for future purposes. As for the cliff-hanger, well…don't expect to know what happened to them in the next chapter! I'm going to keep you hanging. Oh, arcs. I love arcs. That's all! 


	9. Chapter EIGHT

**A/N:** ARGH! Stupid friggin' college applications ruined my muse. I'm sorry, guys. This was going to be a complex chapter to write, either way, so that's why it took so long. I apologize for the wait, and give you an explanation that is necessary when you read this. The _italic_ parts are regressive, meaning they go backwards in time, recounting what happens to Sakura's team, they start in the 'present' and go to the 'past'. The normal parts are progressive, meaning they go from when Sakura left, to when she returned, recounting what happened to the kids. It's confusing, but hopefully it'll make sense. Why did I use this stupid style? Because…it adds drama. And fast pacing. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT**  
_One Step Back_

* * *

_It was raining, and that was fine, because the water washed down the blood. Rain soothed, cooled. But it was also bad, because rain made it hard to travel, and they were weakened, most of them injured. Comrades carrying comrades on their shoulders, leaving a trail of blood behind them. The rain would wash away their trace, and that was good._

_"We rest here," the taller ANBU said, and the group stopped near a cave's entrance. "Mask your chakra."_

_The group did, and one of the Jounins set up a genjutsu to cover them from any possible pursuers. The medic of the team was already resetting joints, closing wounds, and transferring chakra into her other team-mates. The Captain was the last._

_"No, leave me. Heal yourself," the man ordered._

_"Shut up, taichou," the medic snapped. "It's my responsibility as a medic-nin, and your orders won't work here." At least he wasn't hurt that badly. At least it was just a gash near his stomach, but nothing vital. "You shouldn't use Sharingan for the remainder of this mission, or you'll go blind." At least they were safe, and close from home._

_"Do you think the other team is—" one of the other ninjas started to ask._

_"They're fine," the medic interrupted. "They'll be fine." Sitting down on the ground, she leaned her back against the wall. "Only half a day from Konoha. We should be fine. We'll get there safely," she murmured, before things turned to black for her._

------

The day after their sensei had left, Team 3 was transferred under the tender, loving care of Team Gai. Of course, an hour before the children could arrive, Gai gathered up the members of his team for a chat.

"Alright, my wonderful team-mates and former students," the man began to boast. "Sakura-san, our sweet warrior-woman, the wonderful carrier of an excellent flame of youth!—has filed in a request to the Hokage before leaving on her long, strenuous, tasking mission. It is her uttermost request!—that we train her students in her absence, and since we have no other mission at this moment, we shall grasp this opportunity and MAKE SAKURA-SAN NOT REGRET SHE CHOSE US FOR THIS!" he explained, tears of joy in his eyes, by the end of the speech.

"YES, GAI-SENSEI!" Lee chorused, holding up his thumbs with admiration.

TenTen rolled her eyes, and sighed. She was a respectable, 23 year old Jounin, elite weapon mistress, and it wasn't that she didn't like the idea of taking care of Sakura's kids, but… she didn't like the idea of taking care of Sakura's kids with_ her own team._ "You're going to scare them away," the kunoichi said, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I should hope not!" Gai exclaimed, faking a hurt look. "Surely Sakura-san's team is much more brave and excellent! I'm sure they'll surprise us all!"

"Oh, I don't doubt that," TenTen muttered to herself, and rolled out her weapons' scroll. If the kids had been assigned to them, it was obvious that Sakura was looking for something. And that something could only mean intensive training. From the rare times Sakura had come to TenTen asking for advice regarding weapons training, TenTen had gathered that the other kunoichi had a possible future-weapon-expert under hands. And if her students ended being assigned to Team Gai, it was obvious that TenTen's mission was to mould that student, and see if they were indeed capable of assuming the task.

For the lack of scars on her body, and the fact that she was alive, when she should've been dead at least two or three times before, TenTen figured, she owed this to Sakura.

------

_They've been fighting for hours, or maybe days, it's impossible to say. The old prison shouldn't have been there. It shouldn't have been full of armed ninjas, ready to ambush the team of six._

_Rogues._

_They don't even know who they're killing, who's trying to kill them. Maybe the kunai Anko embeds into an opponents head, actually kills a man she's seen once, on the streets, who waved at her, who went on missions with her. But rogues are rogues, which means they're not from Konoha anymore. They can be from Sound, or Sand, or wherever they're from. Doesn't matter. They need to die. It's the one thing she still remembers from when Orochimaru taught her._

_Cowards die._

_And these rogues, attacking them, taking advantage of their limited number, drawing them into an unknown territory, and guiding them to almost certain death, are just that. Cowards. Therefore, they will die._

------

It's been five days training Team 3, and there was improvement. TenTen could admit that Hana had potential as a future weapon expert. She saw the same dedication in the young girl, as the one she had, years back. The same way of cleaning and sharpening her weapons before hiding them in those scrolls, the same way of trying a throw over and over, until she got it right. TenTen saw herself, but she saw someone else, as well, in the young girl. She saw desire to become known, to be important, to rise up from the mediocrity everyone's thrown her in. There was strength.

But what prided her most was that said strength was drawn from her other teammates, too. Courage, and wit, and wisdom, everything was perfectly combined in Team 3. Maybe they weren't a team full of geniuses, maybe they were average in that sense, but as a _team_, they worked better than three ANBU teams put together. And that alone moved TenTen to push them farther, understanding, at last, Sakura's absolute dedication to these three 'brats from hell'.

------  
_  
"I wonder if they miss me yet," Sakura asked herself quietly, though her words reach her partner for the day._

_"Who'd miss someone like you?" Sai asked behind his mask, hidden behind the security that Sakura wouldn't strike him dead on the spot, because they were supposed to be quiet and pass unnoticed._

_"Very funny, bastard," the woman hissed. "But it's been, what, two weeks already? This mission should've been over days and days ago…"_

_"Orders are orders," Sai said. "We knew this mission could be extended, and it has been."_

_"I hope shishou knows what she's doing, sending us to this place."_

_"Her contact in the area should be just around this corner," Sai remarked, as they turned around a tree._

_"Sai," Sakura started, quietly, a feeling of foreboding clenching at her heart. "Sai, was there supposed to be a _building_ here?"_

_One second, and one deflected kunai later, he answered. "Shit."_

------

"She should be returning today," Mara said, passing one kunai to each teammate. "So when she crosses that gate, if you see her walking, remember what TenTen-san told us to do."

"I don't know…do you think it's wise to attack her after a mission?" Hana asked, flicking a finger over her weapon.

"We'll prove to her that we've improved a lot. Apparently, she did this once, to Hatake-san, to show him that she'd gotten a lot better since he'd last seen her."

"What if we hurt her?" Hana questioned again, balancing the kunai on her finger.

"Pshh, we're not _that_ good, yet," Jiro answered, from his own seat.

"So then it's settled. We wait and see how she arrives, and if she's not hurt, we attack her."

They waited, and waited, until well into the night, when their parents had to come and drag them all home. Sakura never arrived..

------

_"The first thing I'll do, when I get home, is to take a really long bath," Sakura yawned, scratching her neck as she shifted on the branch._

_"Bubbles?" Kakashi asked from beside her._

_"Of course!"_

_"What about seeing your students?"_

_"Nah, I'll see them about two days after I soak in water with soap, and sleep in clean sheets."_

_"And here you said you missed them," Kakashi teased._

_"When have I said that?" Sakura asked, snapping her gaze towards him. "I've never said that."_

_"Don't worry, Sakura-_chan_," the man admonished, patting her head. "We'll be there in three days."_

_She glared, huffed and looked away. "Yeah, whatever."_

_Several more minutes passed, before one of the other ANBU members landed on their branch, a scroll in their hands. "From the Hokage. New orders. We're staying."  
_  
------

"I wonder what's taking them so long," Jiro asked, staring up at the blue sky. It had been two weeks and a few days since their sensei had been called in for a mission that, supposedly, should've lasted only one week. After that first time they'd waited for Sakura at the gate, kunais ready and skills polished, the children had made it into a habit. Regardless of what Gai had told them about missions taking longer than established sometimes, the genins couldn't help but feel worried for their sensei.

One week had passed, and the second with it, soon. Jiro, Mara and Hana had polished most of their skills, training in taijutsu with Gai and Lee, and practicing with weapons with TenTen. They felt a bit intimidated, that one time they'd trained with Neji, and had been grateful when the man was also sent on a mission similar to that of Sakura.

"Hey, guys. Look at that," Hana said, pointing down at the ground, where one team of three had been assembled near the gate. "Isn't that Gai-san?"

"It is. Let's go see what's wrong," Mara said, and one second later, the three jumped down from their tree and headed towards where Gai's team was assembled.

"Ah, my temporary youthful students," Gai bemoaned. "I am afraid I will have to leave you for the time being. A dreadful thing has happened."

"Where're you going?" Jiro asked, directing his question to the fourth member of the team, who surprisingly, was none other than Naruto.

"To get Sakura-chan's group back," the blond man answered. "The Hokage got news from one of the teams scattered around the border than her team ended up lured in a trap by some rogues, apparently. They're one of those groups that capture famous shinobi, kill them and ask for a paid reward."

"Is that why it's taking so long?" Hana asked.

"Yeah, but don't worry, okay? We're getting them all back," Naruto answered, grinning warmly.

"You shouldn't say anything else, Naruto," TenTen supplied. "The mission was supposed to be _secret_."

"Aw, but look at the little kids, all concerned over Sakura-chan."

"We're not!" the three children offered in synch.

Naruto gave them a look, smirking slightly. "Who're you trying to fool?"

------

It was night when they finally returned. Three weeks after she'd left, Sakura entered Konoha in the arms of her Captain. The entire team looked worse for wear, and Sakura herself, was unconscious. The team made their first stop at the Hokage tower, where they explained what happened.

"About 100 of them, hiding in a building. They had someone from Konoha with them, obviously, someone who'd probably worked here at a point, because they'd sent us a faked scroll containing directions from you to go to the exact point where the building was. It was hidden in the forest, and I only sent Sakura and Sai to scout the area—supposedly, if the scroll had been true, it should've been an Akatsuki lair. Sakura notified us through her earpiece, by the time we'd gotten there, her and Sai were already engaged in combat," Kakashi explained, his team behind him, silent.

"We managed to escape, and so it went for a week. We escaped, a group followed us, we fought them, ran again."

"Chased around like mice," Tsunade murmured, a fist tightened angrily around her brush. "Backstabbing scoundrels, attacking in large groups."

"Maa, at least it never got to be 100 to 6, right?" Kakashi said, shifting slightly. "And they were only a few ranked as Jounins, from what I could gather."

"I can't deny that it was a good strategy from their part, at least," the woman admitted, after a moment of consideration. "They wouldn't have won in talent what they've succeeded winning in numbers."

"Aa," Kakashi nodded. "Each group sent after us had about ten to fifteen members, and they sent one each day. We never got to heal up, Sakura was too strained from both fighting and keeping up with the group. Good idea to send Gai's team as a backup," he said. "They remained behind to take care of the remaining rogues, and I suspect that we won't have to worry about them anymore."

"Good," Tsunade said in a low voice. "You're all to go to the hospital now, especially Sakura. I suspect she's suffering chakra depletion, and it's necessary that she be attended now. Reports as to your initial mission regarding Akatsuki can wait until you're all healed up. Dismissed," she snapped, waving a hand in the air.

A second later, each member started disappearing from the room, leaving only Kakashi and the unconscious Sakura with the Hokage.

"Anything else, Kakashi?" Tsunade questioned, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"Yes," the man answered. "I'd like to recommend Haruno Sakura for a position in ANBU as soon as she passes her Jounin exams."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "You mean _if_ she passes."

"She'll pass."

"I think so too, myself. As for your recommendation…does Sakura want to become ANBU, Kakashi?" Her question was met by silence. She sighed, and leaned back in her chair. "Ask _her_ before you go around recommending things like that, Hatake. I know you're probably doing out of pride, because she was good in this mission. A girl like Sakura can't jump from Tokubetsu Jounin all the way up to ANBU."

"She can take that challenge."

"Be it as it may, I think she's interested in some other things now," the woman responded. "Wait until after she passes Jounin exams. And now would you quit stalling and get my prodigal student to see a medic? If she's in bed for more than two days, she'll blame it on you, and you wouldn't want that, would you?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled up in a lazy smile, and a moment later, he bowed to the Hokage, holstered Sakura further up in his arms, and left towards the one place he hated in the entire village: the hospital.

------

"Do you think she's awake yet?"

"You're not going to try poking her with another stick, are you, Jiro?"

"What? It worked well the first time!"

"You guys, this is a hospital, be more quiet."

"Aw, sorry, sorry, Hana-chan. But it's not my fault if Sakamura can't keep his mouth shut."

"WHO'RE YOU CA—"

"Brats," Sakura groaned from her spot on the bed, opening her eyes lazily. "Brats, get out of my room, now."

"Sensei! You're awake!" Mara shouted, launching herself at the bed to hug the newly-awoken Sakura.

"Didn't you hear me when I said to get out?" the woman groaned, but hugged back, regardless.

"Are you hurt, sensei?" Hana asked.

"I wasn't until Mara broke a rib with her hug," came the muffled answer. "Stop hugging me."

"Admit it, you've missed us like hell, haven't you, Sakura-sensei?" Jiro quipped, amused smirk on his face.

"Did not. Was busy hunting people, and being all combative."

"We brought you flowers," Hana interrupted, with a knowing smile. "Jiro-kun wrote the dedication note, it says 'get well soon'."

"Mm. Thanks, guys. Now tell me who let you in."

"So you can thank them?"

"So I can kill them. I was planning to sleep at least two more days."

"We've missed you, too, Sakura-sensei."

"Stupid brats."

* * *

**A/N:** God, this chapter took TOO much to finish. Keh. 


	10. Chapter NINE

**A/N:** College has started, but I'm back with a new chapter at last! I haven't lost my inspiration for this fic, which is a good things. To the five or six people still reading this, thanks. I'm hoping the updates will be more frequent from now on. If not, feel free to kick my ass in reviews. Please mind the notes at the end of the chapter.

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**CHAPTER NINE**  
_Ready, Steady_

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"Alright, the chuunin exams are in two weeks, and I'll be out of here today," Sakura spoke, sitting on her assigned hospital bed. It was the first time she'd been held so long in a hospital while _she_ was the patient. A total of four days, Tsunade's orders, in order for all her chakra reserves to fill up. Now Sakura was full of energy, and with no permission to let it out until two in the afternoon. It was killing her, and she finally understood Kakashi's hate towards hospitals.

"We have two weeks to get your techniques perfected, and I'm going to have you sparring against each other each day," she continued, looking at the three children, each of them sitting on one chair in front of her bed. It was a nice feeling, the fact that she still held a position of authority, even strapped to a bed. "The not-so-good news is that I'm not going to be present all the time, since I need to get ready for my Jounin exams."

"Really? Does that mean you'll be leaving us alone?" Hana asked, raising a tentative hand.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I've asked Kakashi-sensei to come train with me during the same time I train you guys. So while you're sparring, I'll be sparring myself. The one who doesn't spar will have to do laps around the forest, or something around that line. I'm sure you've done enough laps with Gai's team."

The pale looks on the childrens' faces certified her affirmation. Sakura feared to think how many 'five hundred laps around Konoha' Gai or Lee had forced onto her kids, and why. Then again, they didn't look that traumatised, and there was not an inch of green on their clothes, so that was a good thing.

"Hatake Kakashi is gonna be there when we train?" Jiro asked, looking a bit more attentive now. "That's so _cool_."

"Hey! What's so cool about it?" Sakura snapped. "Don't go treating him like a star, he might get a bigger head. I didn't see you treat _me_ like I was the best thing that ever happened to you."

"Because you weren't," Jiro retorted, giving her a cynical look that, if you added a bit of hair to his head, Sakura could _swear_ he looked exactly like Shikamaru.

"That's it, young man, you can start running your laps right _now_," she ordered, glaring at him. It was a bit pathetic, watching Sakura, a perfectly mature and reasonable grown-up woman, have a stare-down with Jiro, an eleven year old kid.

It was at exactly that moment when Sakura's lovely, adorable, sweet mother decided to come inside her hospital room. Haruno Michiko was a short woman, slim and elegant looking. She looked twice the woman Sakura could ever be, and there were many the times when Sakura was reminded of this. While her father hadn't minded Sakura becoming a ninja—money from missions would prove to be profitable for the family, up until Sakura moved away at least—, her mother had never approved of Sakura moving away from her femininity, and jumping into her tomboy nature. The first time Michiko had seen Sakura knock down a wall with her fist, the young girl could've sworn her mother wanted to kick her out from home. Thankfully, Sakura'd kicked herself out a few years later, now living alone. And while they did talk, and Michiko still cooked the occasional o-bento box for Sakura to eat on lonely weekends, the two Haruno women did not get along much.

Her mother made a point of not knowing anything about Sakura's life, and Sakura tried to pretend she didn't care, and still be polite during family dinners. Of course, politeness from Sakura often came with a sharp tongue, sarcasm, or irritable moods. She sometimes wondered how her father had coped. "Hello, mother," Sakura said, looking away from Jiro's eyes.

"I…I heard you'd been injured during a mission, and I—" Michiko began, looking a bit faint. Probably from the smell of medicine.

"You came to check up on your daughter? Wow, you only managed to last about…four days with no visit. It's a miracle," Sakura grumbled. She was sure her mother had chosen that day in hopes that she'd miss Sakura at the hospital, but that at least, that way, her daughter would know she'd at least tried.

"Yes, well…I have been busy," the woman retorted through pursed lips. Her green eyes were observing the children in the room with a mixture of curiosity and disgust. "Who're they?"

"My kids," Sakura answered flatly, in a calm way. If her mother had come to make her life a worse hell, she'd get her joy from it somehow.

"Y-your what?" Michiko asked, looking at the children, and at Sakura with wide eyes.

Sakura's consciousness gave an evil cackle, and she smiles softly. "They're my children, mother. Don't you realise?" she asked sweetly. "Aren't you, darlings?" she asked the kids, giving them a pointed stare.

"Yes, mother," answered Jiro, who was the first to speak. He said it with such seriousness and conviction that Sakura wanted to hug and kiss the boy for all he was worth. Her students were helping her prank her mother. It could not get better than this.

"Who--_when_ did you--?"

"When you were busy organizing parties for your friends," Sakura answered, waving her hand. "Want to meet them? This is Hana-chan, she's Sai's kid. She's the oldest. Naruto's Mara's daddy, she came second. And I kept trying until I had a boy, and then came Jiro," she explained, keeping a straight face. "He's Kakashi's."

Her mother turned white.

"Hello, grandmother?" Jiro spoke, softly and innocently looking at Michiko.

"How—Sakura, how could you?" Michiko gasped.

Sakura shrugged. "What can I say? Team 7 has always been…really close," she answered. Sakura's mother turned green, flailed a bit, at loss for words. Then she let out a strained smile, and stormed out of the room. Sakura leaned back against her pillows, satisfied. "Well, that went well."

"Are you sure you should've done that?" Hana asked, trying to hide the smile from showing.

"Well, considering that this is the first time I've seen that woman in…three months? Yes, I think I should've. It's her own fault for believing it so eagerly."

"Why would she believe it? It's clear that we don't look like you at all, and it would've been biologically impossible to have us all in this short time," Hana asked, curious.

"And more importantly, why am I the youngest?" Jiro added.

Sakura directed him a _look_ before shrugging. "I think she's been too eager to find reasons to dislike me all this time. Either way, she'll probably end up confirming it with someone in power before she goes and disowns me," she explained, waving her hand dismissively. "I better not go anywhere near their home for some months."

"Why not?" Mara asked.

"Because when that woman finds out I've pulled her hair _this_ badly, she'll want to skin me alive," she answered. "You guys will have to live without her obentos for now."

"Poor grandmother," Jiro said, with such seriousness that for a second even Sakura believed it.

The second passed, and Sakura started to laugh hard.

------

"Morning," Kakashi told Sakura after he materialised on the training grounds, at one in the afternoon the next day.

"Morning," Sakura answered, not looking away from her children, training a few feet away. "You're late."

"I was busy saving a—"

"Save it."

"So, I had a visit from your mother yesterday," he said after a while. "She hit me with a large, expensive looking bag, and told me to keep my paws off of you. Mind explaining that?"

"She visited you?" Sakura asked, looking at him at last. "That's rich. She must've really believed it. Tch, idiot…"

"Believed what?" Kakashi asked.

"That you're the father of my child. Jiro," she explained, pointing at the boy. "Is secretly our son. Mara and Hana belong to Naruto and Sai, respectively."

"Oh." He paused for fifteen minutes, before sighing. "You shouldn't lie to your mother. It's not polite to lie."

"That's rich, coming from you," Sakura retorted, tugging the gloves on her hands.

Kakashi shook his head, resigned, and patted her head. "Let's start training, yeah?"

------

"You're not focused, Sakura."

Sakura looked away from the window, and down to her hands. They were filled with blood, and the mess under them informed her that she'd just killed her dummy-patient. At this rate, she'd never pass the examination. "I need a break, shishou. I'll start again afterwards," the young woman begged.

Tsunade gave her an inspective look, her lips pursed in thought, before sighing. "Very well. What has you so concerned, anyway?"

"Is the team you sent to replace ours on the field okay?" she asked.

"Yes, actually. I just got a messenger hawk from one of the members today, they're moving in on the lair, thanks to your team's indications. It was very useful."

"It's annoying how we got held back because of a gang of bandits, though," Sakura groused.

Tsunade rubbed her temples gently, before leaning into her chair. "Sakura, the reports clearly said they outnumbered you. Even if they weren't S-class criminals of Akatsuki level, the fact that the odds were brought to one-against-four is still something that's to be taken into consideration. I know you probably wanted to be there on that mission, but I've told you from the start that your team's mission was to just track them. Judging from your experiences in the past against Akatsuki, whenever one shinobi goes against an Akatsuki, they end up dead. Kakashi, yourself and Sai were exceptions. That was my reason to send you. As for why I had you remain here, well…you need to recover. And I'm sure you'd rather be with your students."

Sakura gave a faint nod, taking a seat. It was true, her mission had been to join Kakashi's team, and just _track_ the Akatsuki. Engaging mindless battle against them had been strictly forbidden, at least until the arrival of sufficient back-up. When Sakura had gone off with Sai to scout the area, and found themselves surrounded, she'd been enraged. To be held back by a group of meagre rogues. As it had turned out, not all of those rogues were meagre, some reaching A and B ranks. And their strategy had been a good one, as far as everything went. Sakura's team had been exhausted, and at times close to losing a team member, if it hadn't been for Sakura's efficiency. But still.  
Two days after Sakura had recovered, Sai had informed her that he was being sent back on the battlefield, as a part of the group in charge of eliminating all Akatsuki. The ANBU Ne member wasn't by far a part of Niju Shotai—the group assigned to that mission—but he was a valuable piece. Kakashi was kept in Konoha, together with Kurenai, Anko and Ibiki. And Sakura, of course. Should anything happen to the village, they would be in charge of protecting it. Aside from that, Sakura also found out that Naruto had never returned from recovering her, and neither had Gai's team. They were also assigned. And her empty days at the hospital indicated that even Neji was gone.

In conclusion. All her friends were busy fighting Akatsuki and killing them, while Sakura stayed home and trained kids, and trained herself, and did something weak like _recover_. Either her life sucked, or Tsunade had decided that she needed a vacation from battles.

_My life sucks._ There were about fifteen days left till her Jounin exams, and only ten days left till her students ventured into their Chuunin exams. Sakura was nervous enough as it was, she didn't need to hear from Tsunade that her medical exams were also coming up. Apparently, before a medic-nin took the Jounin exams, they had to go through an examination in the medical terrain, to prove that they were worthy. Even the Hokage's apprentice wasn't spared.

And the bad part of this was that Sakura was honestly too nervous, worried and distracted to concentrate on an exam she was sure she'd win.

"That dummy won't wait for forever," Tsunade said, waking her up from her internal monologues.

"Ah, yes. To work."

-----

Time passed relatively fast, her days being filled by trainings, examinations, pep-talks and more trainings. Completed by the occasional hospital shift. Time passed fast, and the ten days turned into nine, then eight, and so on, until it was the day before the Chuunin exams. Sakura had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown as it was, what with Naruto and Sai not returning from their mission on time, only to add that the next day, her mostly-average students would be shoved into the adult world.

She wanted to cry. Instead, she just took them to a restaurant, ordered soba and ramen for everyone, and gave them the obligatory pep-talk.

"That you've improved so much makes me proud of you already. Tomorrow you'll begin the exams. Remember that your team is everything, and that you have to keep a cool head. Don't break into fights with each other, don't let any other teams taunt you, and if anyone says you're average, break their noses."

"But you said that we shouldn't fight," Hana interfered.

"Fight _with each other_," Sakura elaborated. "If you kick everyone else's asses is fine by me. But keep it _in_ the exams. If anyone challenges you before the exams start, just say no. I don't care what your ego will suffer, just think of what your stamina will suffer if you begin a battle after being dead tired from a previous one."

"Happened to you?" Mara asked, for once not busy with asking for seconds.

"To my team, yes," Sakura admitted. "It was the only reason why I got to be Chuunin first. Okay, not the only reason. I'm also really good."

There was a collective roll of eyes around the table, some more discrete than the other. It turned into a collective 'ow' when Sakura gave them each a slap on the back of their head. "Why'd you do that for?" Jiro complained.

"Learn to respect me already, dammit," Sakura growled. "Anyway. Back to point, just remember to rest well today. And forgive me if tomorrow I'll be cold, harsh and bitchy when instructing you. It's required, and I'll probably be really, really stressed. But know that I'm proud of you as it is. You've surpassed my expectations of you. Just remember that tomorrow, no matter what happens, this is a team. And the team matters more than pride."

"Yes, sensei."

Sakura grinned proudly, and ordered desert.

"Can we still change it to something different than Team Sakura, though?" Jiro whispered to his teammates.

"THAT'S IT, YOUNG MAN. YOU'RE _GROUNDED!_"

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**A/N:** I hope this closes some holes I left in the last chapter, or answers some questions. I had an interesting reviewer on ff-net who mentioned the mission seeming a bit off. Sakura's team's mission was only to _track and surveil_ the Akatsuki, not hunt them down. And while it's kinda screwed up that they're distracted by a group of rogues, aren't missions unpredictable? I think Naruto has taught us that. Those weren't nice rogues, you know? Anyway, hope to answer more questions down the road. Patience. Next chapter: the Chuunin exams. 


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